BENGALURU, AUG 11 (PTI): Warfare is undergoing a major transformation towards asymmetric and saturation attacks, with drones and emerging technologies playing an increasingly important role, C K Das, Director General, Electronics and Communication Systems (ECS), DRDO, said on Tuesday.
He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of NETRA 2026, a two-day premier national seminar dedicated to advancing innovation and collaboration in Electronic Warfare, Digital twin and Mission-Critical System Design here.
Das said India needs to build a layered defence architecture by integrating technologies ranging from long-range missiles and radars to electronic warfare systems, directed-energy weapons and drones.
“Today the warfare has transformed. The warfare has transformed to asymmetric warfare. It has transformed to saturation attack. It has transformed essentially to the warfare of economics more than the agility, more than the depth of the power you have. A tiny drone can create the insect and inflict the injury across the domain,” he said.
He referred to the growing use of Kamikaze and Shahed drones and said the economics of warfare would increasingly determine the choice of weapons.
“Maybe your S-400 can always nullify your Shahed, but you have to compute the cost of a Shahed versus the cost of a 400. So if you want to sustain a warfare, if you want to have a prolonged warfare where you have to be designated to be a global leader, then more accuracy is definitely important.
Control algorithm is very important, but the most important is going to be the cheapest way to negotiate the target,” he said.
On India’s defence preparedness, Das said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Sudarshan Chakra” vision would require multiple technologies to work together.
“It is going to be the plethora of technologies which needs to be stitched together to protect this nation,” he said.
Das also stressed the need to manufacture advanced defence systems rapidly and in large numbers while ensuring identical performance.
“If I create one missile or one tank or one radar or one seeker, maybe that will be the global number one, but that is not going to sustain my country unless I have the numbers,” he said.
Calling for greater adoption of digital twins and model-based systems engineering, Das said DRDO would mount a strong programme in these areas.
“Very soon all our products are going to be digital twin, and all our model-based system engineering is going to define our future systems.”
He also said greater use of digital modelling could reduce physical testing and accelerate development.
According to an official statement, NETRA-2026 is a perfect blend in bringing together representatives from the Indian Armed Forces, DRDO, Defence Public Sector Undertakings, academia and industry on a common platform to deliberate on emerging technologies and engineering approaches shaping the future battlespace.