Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the Air Force Commanders' Conference in New Delhi on November 12, 2026. He called for further strengthening the operational readiness of the defence forces in view of emerging threats.
Addressing the conference, the Defence Minister said that keeping in view the changing operational style and rapid technological progress of modern warfare, the defence forces must continuously strengthen their capabilities. He stressed on strengthening intelligence and surveillance capabilities.
Launch of AI applications under Udaan initiative
During the conference, the Defence Minister launched in-house AI applications developed by the AI Centre of Excellence of the Indian Air Force's Unit for Digitisation, Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Application Networking (Udaan). These will be used to automate tasks in the areas of operations, administration and aerospace safety.
Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Defence Production Secretary Sanjeev Kumar and Defence Finance Secretary Vishwajit Sahay were also present on the occasion. This two-day conference provides a platform for the senior leadership of the Indian Air Force to deliberate on various important issues.