The new battlefield: AI-based warfare in the agentic age, multi-domain ops and energy as the next big challenge

Long before China’s DeepSeek model made waves across the global AI landscape, its military — the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) — had already begun embedding AI deeply into its warfighting strategy. Under the banner of “intelligentised warfare,” Beijing has been deploying AI to sharpen precision, cut reaction times, and integrate generative AI with drones to enhance target identification and engagement. These developments mark the dawn of the agentic age of warfare, where machines not only support but begin to make tactical and operational decisions in real-time.

China’s AI-driven military edge

China’s approach has been methodical: start small, improve battlefield equipment such as artillery by shortening shot intervals and improving accuracy, then integrate AI into drones for real-time radar suppression and autonomous target acquisition. With breakthroughs like the DeepSeek model — which itself shows superior reasoning and decision-making abilities — China is well positioned to expand its military AI applications dramatically.

For India, this evolution is deeply concerning. Beyond its own military AI progress, China is also bolstering Pakistan’s capabilities. Since 2020, Pakistan’s Centre of Artificial Intelligence and Computing under the Air Force has built a robust Cognitive Electronic Warfare programme aimed at leveraging AI and machine learning for faster, more accurate battlefield decisions. According to Lt General Rahul R Singh, during Operation Sindoor, Pakistan appeared to benefit from real-time vectors and satellite updates — almost certainly supported by Chinese data-processing systems working quietly in the background.

The multi-domain imperative

As wars become increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, military experts stress the need to dominate not just land, air, and sea, but also space, cyberspace, and the electromagnetic spectrum. This is known as the multi-domain operations (MDO) paradigm.

Lt Gen Amardeep Singh Aujla, India’s Master General Sustenance, notes that evolving geopolitical rivalries and rapid technology adoption are driving this complexity. Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, underscores that modern armed forces now face unmanageable torrents of data from five or more domains, and the side that can harness this data fastest — and turn it into actionable intelligence — gains the upper hand.

From drone swarms to autonomous cyber-attacks to satellite-driven real-time surveillance, the battlefield is already transforming into a high-speed, high-stakes data contest. AI is emerging as the central nervous system of this machine-heavy battlefield.

But what about energy?

While much attention has rightly been paid to AI’s promise, an often-overlooked constraint is the enormous energy demand of these technologies. Fields like big data analysis, machine learning, natural language processing, and predictive analytics all consume staggering amounts of electricity — particularly in the data centers that support them.

To sustain AI-driven warfighting capabilities, militaries and nations must rethink their energy infrastructure. Nuclear power is already being explored as a reliable, scalable solution to meet the growing demand of energy-hungry AI technologies. Without adequate energy — and resilient grids to deliver it — even the most sophisticated AI systems could become ineffective at a critical moment.

The road ahead

For India, closing the gap in military AI capability will require more than just adopting advanced algorithms or acquiring drones. It will mean creating robust C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) systems, training personnel in AI-driven tactics, and ensuring energy security to support these initiatives.

China is already well ahead — having integrated civil-military fusion across domains and invested heavily in both AI and nuclear energy. But with strategic focus and investments, India too can strengthen its position in this emerging agentic age.

As war becomes a contest of data, autonomy, and precision — fueled by resilient energy systems — the stakes have never been higher. Dominance in the next conflict won’t just belong to the nation with the largest army or most aircraft carriers. It will go to the one that can best harness AI, multi-domain operations, and sustainable energy to control the flow of information and decision-making at machine speed.