Armed forces need to shift from net-centric operations to intelligent warfare: CDS Anil Chauhan

Hyderabad: As warfare expands from physical to the synthetic and cognitive realms, the armed forces need to transition from net-centric operations to intelligent warfare and move beyond MDO to ARADO, CDS General Anil Chauhan has said.

He also emphasised the need to establish non-nuclear strategic deterrence, ensuring the ability to win at every level of escalation, a defence release said here on Wednesday.

General Chauhan delivered his inaugural address at the annual seminar on the theme ‘Multi-Domain Integrated Technologically-Empowered Resilient Armed Forces (MITRA)’ at the College of Defence Management (CDM) here on February 24.

The Chief of Defence Staff highlighted the “Third Revolution in Military Affairs,” characterised by Convergence Warfare that fuses contact and non-contact, kinetic and non-kinetic, and old and new domains across all levels of conflict, it said.

“As warfare expands from the physical to the synthetic and cognitive realms, the Indian Armed Forces need to transition from net-centric operations toward Intelligent Warfare and move beyond Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) to All Realm All Domain Operations (ARADO),” General Chauhan said.

The CDM hosted the annual seminar on February 24 and 25 with the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, as ‘Knowledge Partner’.

This year’s theme ‘MITRA’ underscores the evolving role of military and war fighting strategies in an increasingly complex geopolitical and technological landscape, it said.The seminar served as a strategic platform to align contemporary conflict lessons with India’s unique operational environment, focused on self-reliance and structural reform, with an objective to develop armed forces that are multi-domain in vision, integrated in action, technology-empowered in execution, and resilient in purpose, the release said.

With the participation of senior defence officials, scholars and industry partners, the CDM Annual Seminar 2026 was aimed at fostering intellectual discourse and strategic foresight for developing comprehensive national power under the realm of MITRA, it said.

Established in December 1970, the College of Defence Management (CDM) has been a premier tri-service institution dedicated to equipping military leadership with the contemporary management thoughts, concepts, and best practices.

Over the years, its annual seminars have addressed crucial themes ranging from strategic challenges and self-reliance to geopolitical power shifts and leadership transformation, the release added.