General Dheeraj Seth, Thal Chief of Staff (COAS), delivered the inaugural address on 11 November 2026 at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi, for the ‘Automated Military Symposium 2026’

The symposium, organised with the Cavalry Officers Association and the Automated Military Headquarters, was a two‑day event that brought senior serving officers, veterans, defence scientists, industry representatives and strategic thinkers together on one platform

Key points of the address

In his address, Seth highlighted the changes underway in the Indian Army to meet emerging operational challenges. He said transformation is not limited to modern equipment and organisational restructuring, but also requires a culture that embraces innovation, rapid and flexible working methods, and technology adoption

Seth stressed the critical importance of jointness and integration in future wars and urged better coordination among the Army’s various arms and services. He reiterated the Army’s commitment to self‑reliance through indigenous capability development and strong partnerships with the defence industry and academic institutions

Other major programmes

The symposium opened with a welcome speech by Lieutenant General Ashok Mehta (Retd), President of the Cavalry Officers Association. In the same session, the book ‘Armor 2040: Steel, Silicon and the Future Battlespace’ by Lieutenant General AB Shivane (Retd) was launched

Lt General Preet Pal Singh, Director General of the Automated Army, delivered the keynote on ‘Contemporary Automated Warfare in the Indian Context’, stating that the Indian Army is moving beyond ‘platform‑centric capabilities’ towards an integrated, network‑enabled and autonomous warfighting system

Future discussion

The conference will cover artificial intelligence, autonomous loitering munitions, human‑unmanned teaming, integrated drone warfare, next‑generation combat systems and multi‑domain automated campaigns. The programme will conclude on 12 November 2026 with a discussion titled ‘Indian Automated Forces 2035: Changes for Future Operational Environments’