Post-Operation Sindoor, the armed forces today started a ‘future warfare course’ to train how technology was impacting war-fighting and to understand the need to align the forces’ requirements with domestic production of weapons and equipment.The course has participants from the three services, as well as representatives from the defence industry including startups, MSMEs, defence public sector undertaking and private players. Amongst the services participants, the seniority of the officers varies from Majors to Major Generals (and their equivalents), with the junior officers bringing their technical flair and expertise and the senior officers their operational experience and strategic knowledge.The three-week course (from February 2 to February 25) commenced at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. It covers domain-specific warfare developments in military operations.This is the third-edition of the ‘warfare course’ and the first such event since Operation Sindoor when new technologies like drones were used in large numbers. This course features an enhanced curriculum covering specialised subjects and domain-specific warfare developments in military operations.It will aim to arrive at an erudite understanding on how war fighting is being impacted by technology, necessitating a relook at thinking, concepts, doctrines and strategies. It also caters for deeper exploration of critical topics, practical demonstrations of emerging technologies and visits to institutions of critical importance to the capabilities of the defence forces.The course looks to align operational priorities of the armed forces with the capabilities of the indigenous defence industry. This is vital as the Union Budget yesterday focused on self-reliance. The Budget has allocated Rs 1.39 lakh crore, that is 75% of the capital acquisition for procurement through domestic industries. Such earmarking of funds, reassures domestic industry about their investment. The capital outlay for the Defence Ministry for the next fiscal is Rs 2,19,306 crore.A diverse range of experts including veterans, serving officers, ex-ambassadors, industry experts and academic professionals will ensure that a holistic analysis of India’s security challenges are debated.Additionally, experts in subjects like critical and rare earth elements, supply chain vulnerabilities and regional and global geopolitics impinging on operations in the future, expanding the number of subjects that will need to be studied and analysed by the defence forces in order to plan and conduct operations in the future.Building on the success of the inaugural course held in September 2024, this expanded three-week programme aims to realise the vision of the Chief of the Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan to prepare officers for the complex challenges of modern warfare.It is being hosted by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, under the Chief of Defence Staff. Think tank Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) is partnering the event.