Archive · 2 Oct 2026
India Must Sustain Military Technology Edge as Pakistan Advances
Maj Gen Pawan Anand said India needs to keep improving its military technology.
He expects Pakistan to study Operation Sindoor and obtain more advanced systems.
China and Turkey could help Pakistan improve its capabilities.
Anand said India should develop and deploy new technologies faster.
Artificial intelligence can help military personnel study large amounts of information.
It can also support decisions while commanders remain in control.
AI needs strong computers, reliable connections and organized data.
Digital engineering lets engineers test equipment on computers before building it.
This could help India create and deploy military equipment more quickly.
Maj Gen Pawan Anand said Pakistan is likely to learn from Operation Sindoor and acquire more advanced military technologies.
He said Chinese and Turkish support could sharpen Pakistan’s technological capabilities, making India’s own edge important.
Anand urged India to accelerate the development and deployment of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.
He identified compute power, connectivity and well-classified data as three pillars of effective military AI.
He said digital engineering can shorten acquisition timelines by enabling virtual design, modelling and battlefield testing before prototypes are built.
- Who
- Maj Gen Pawan Anand (Retd), the armed forces, and India; Pakistan is identified as a likely technological competitor.
- What
- Anand called for India to maintain and widen its military technology edge through AI, digital engineering and faster acquisition.
- When
- Anand made the comments on 29 September.
- Where
- At the Defence Tech Summit in New Delhi.
- Why
- Pakistan is expected to continue acquiring advanced technologies, potentially with support from China and Turkey.
- Speaker
- Maj Gen Pawan Anand (Retd), Director of the Centre for Emerging Technologies for AtmaNirbhar Bharat at the United Service Institution of India.
- Key concern
- Pakistan may acquire more advanced military technologies after learning from Operation Sindoor.
- External support
- The article cites support for Pakistan from China and Turkey, among other developed countries.
- AI pillars
- Compute power, connectivity and well-classified data.
- Digital engineering
- It enables virtual design, modelling and testing before physical prototypes are produced.
- Remaining gap
- Anand highlighted semiconductor capacity as an area needing greater attention.
- Current adoption
- The Indian Navy has begun using digital engineering in some projects, though efforts remain relatively isolated.