Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan has highlighted the significant challenge posed by misinformation during Operation Sindoor, revealing that approximately 15 per cent of the armed forces’ time went into tackling false narratives.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore, General Chauhan said, “Combating fake news was a constant effort. Our communication strategy was deliberate; we chose to be measured, not reactive, because misinformation can quickly distort public perception during high-stakes operations.”
Chauhan noted that modern conflicts are increasingly adopting flexible and deceptive strategies. During Operation Sindoor, about 15 percent of the time was dedicated to countering fake narratives, highlighting the importance of information warfare.
Such narratives during the mission point to the need for a dedicated information warfare vertical, as demonstrated by India in its “fact-based communication, even at the cost of slower responses", he said.
During the operation launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, India’s air-gapped military systems remained secure, while public platforms faced minor disruptions, he added.
The CDS highlighted the downside of automation and robotics in conflict and the future of Artificial Intelligence in future warfare. “When fewer lives are at risk, decision-makers may act more aggressively," he said. He also explained that military AI’s utility currently remains limited owing to its reliance on open-source data. “It must be integrated into operations, wargaming, and intelligence gathering to become truly impactful," he added.
The Chief of Defence Staff also said that while India did suffer the loss of military aircraft in the recent clashes with Pakistan, military losses are a part and parcel of conflict.
In an interview to Bloomberg, General Chauhan said, "The good part is that we are able to understand the tactical mistake which we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and flew all our jets again, targeting at long range."
Operation Sindoor was a non-contact, multi-domain mission which included aspects like distributed force application, cyber and disinformation campaign, intelligence capabilities and network-centric operations, General Chauhan said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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