NDTV Defence Summit 2025: Adani Defence CEO's "Age Of Ultron" Example In Cognitive Warfare

Modern warfare is being shaped by data and the role of cognitive warriors, as seen during Operation Sindoor, will decide who wins in future warfare, Adani Defence and Aerospace CEO Ashish Rajvanshi said at the NDTV Defence Summit 2025 on Saturday.

"What we witnessed in Operation Sindoor is something which is a reflection of cognitive warfare, which all of us need to be absolutely aware of and be prepared for. What is cognitive warfare? It is the taming of artificial intelligence - man and machine coming together and working in a seamless direction for the same mission. This is as good as a warrior coming out of Avengers: Age of Ultron," Mr Rajvanshi said.

He said it is critical for India to build these capabilities in the next five years, considering the revolutionary changes in technology happening on the battlefields across the world, such as drone warfare.

"It is inevitable that in the next five years if we don't work and build these capabilities, we are screwed. I don't want to use these words, but we have seen the preparation which is happening in terms of the global market," said the CEO who spearheads the Adani Group's philosophy of growth along with sustainability.

"The whole concept of globalisation is out of the window. NATO no longer exists and any conversation which is either happening in a European boardroom or it's happening in a South Asian boardroom is about localisation, it's about nationalisation, it's about self-reliance and Atmanirbharta. So now, taking any different path in the name of bureaucracy, distrust, corruption, I think we will be going in a completely wrong way," Mr Rajvanshi said.

To understand the rapid advances in modern warfare and the accelerating change in future warfare, Mr Rajvanshi pointed out it is important to go into the history of warfare itself.

"If we go into the history of mankind, warfare has been as old as humanity itself. And the biggest accelerator of human evolution in terms of shaping our instincts, shaping our technology and shaping our societies, has been warfare in the past. You look at the two World Wars, they actually fostered completely new industries - from machineguns to battle tanks to jet engines to nuclear bombs - and most importantly, establishing the permanent military-industrial complex which became the mainstay of how we look at defence," Mr Rajvanshi said.

For India, it is a big opportunity and not an adversity because India has been investing in its own industry.

"We are investing in our own startups. For the first time we are not talking percentage, 60 per cent indigenisation, 70 per cent indigenisation; we are saying 100 per cent self-sufficiency. And what the defence minister mentioned, this is no longer an option, this is survival for us. So I think what India is writing is melding the lessons of the past, working on the opportunity of the current, but we are very sure we are going to write the history of the future working as one company, one industry and working towards a one vision," Mr Rajvanshi said.

Prior to joining Adani in 2014, Mr Rajvanshi led the energy and infrastructure agenda across international markets for the global management consulting firm, Booz Allen Hamilton (later Booz & Co) in London.