'Need leapfrogging to win wars': Air Marshal pushes for self-reliance in defence; calls progress 'painfully slow'

Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti urged India to urgently accelerate defence indigenisation, warning that progress from concept to operationalisation is "painfully slow." He emphasized domestic production and "leapfrogging" in critical technologies for strategic autonomy, noting future wars will involve both low-cost unmanned systems and advanced AI platforms.Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti urged India to urgently accelerate defence indigenisation, warning that progress from concept to operationalisation is "painfully slow." He emphasized domestic production and "leapfrogging" in critical technologies for strategic autonomy, noting future wars will involve both low-cost unmanned systems and advanced AI platforms.