What is ‘BUILD’? CDS Gen Subramani lays out five-point mantra to prepare India for future wars

Chief of Defence Staff General N.S. Raja Subramani came out with a five-point"BUILD" framework aimed at preparing India's armed forces and defence ecosystem for the rapidly changing nature of warfare.

The acronym captures the CDS's assessment of how future battlefields are evolving and the capabilities India needs to develop to keep pace. It covers the changing battlefield, economics of warfare, integration of technology, learning and adaptation, and the ability to deliver military capabilities at scale.

"This in my view is the bridge between India's defence ambitions and the battlefields of the future," Gen Subramani said during a defence conclave in New Delhi.

According to the CDS, 'B' stands for Battlefield, which is becoming increasingly transparent, connected and contested across multiple domains.

He argued that the traditional distinction between forward and rear areas is disappearing as surveillance and strike capabilities expand.

"There is increasingly no safer rear. There is no safe place in case of a conflict," he said.

The time between detecting and engaging a target is also shrinking dramatically. Sensors can detect targets, algorithms can classify them, networks can transmit the information, and forces can engage them within minutes or even seconds.

"This is the battlefield we must prepare for," the CDS said.

The second element of BUILD, U, focuses on understanding the changing economics of warfare.

Gen Subramani pointed to the ability of relatively inexpensive drones to locate valuable targets as an example of how the cost equation of warfare is changing.

India, he argued, cannot prepare for one conflict at a time because future battlefields will increasingly be simultaneous, connected and contested across multiple domains.

The changing economics of warfare also places greater emphasis on sustainability. According to the CDS, a weapon system must remain effective not merely on the first day of a conflict but on the 50th and 100th days, across environments ranging from high-altitude regions to deserts and hot or cold climates.

The 'I' in BUILD stands for integration, particularly the integration of technology, data and industry, which Gen Subramani said is becoming decisive.

"Networks must talk, data must flow, systems must interoperate, and algorithms must operate across services, and commanders must receive decision advantage rather than merely receiving information," he said.

The CDS called for a military system architecture that ensures the right information reaches the right person at the right time while remaining secure and accountable.

He also argued that the armed forces need to move from the demonstration of artificial intelligence to its application in warfighting.

The military must also pay attention to emerging capabilities such as unmanned surface vessels and unmanned underwater vessels, he said.

The fourth pillar is learning and adaptation, which the CDS described as crucial to gaining a combat advantage in future wars.

"Speed of learning and adaptability" is itself an important combat capability, he said.

"So, whoever learns faster and adapts faster to the circumstances is going to win," Gen Subramani said.

The need for rapid adaptation assumes greater importance because military, technological, geopolitical and geoeconomic changes are occurring faster than organisations may be able to comprehend or respond to them.

Gen Subramani said some of the assumptions on which military operations have traditionally been built are increasingly becoming obsolete.

The final element, 'D', stands for delivery at scale, which the CDS said would determine strategic endurance.

According to him, the defence industry of the present and future cannot be judged merely by the sophistication of the weapons it produces.