Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the first-ever ‘Artificial Intelligence in Defence’ (AIDef) symposium and exhibition to be organised by the Department of Defence Production, in New Delhi on 11 July.

The exhibition will showcase cutting-edge AI-enabled solutions developed by the Services, research organisations, industry and start-ups, and innovators and the launch of AI products for the market.

Addressing a press conference here, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said it is a big event where 75 newly-developed AI products/technologies, having applications in defence, will be launched as part of the celebrations marking 75 years of Independence – ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ – and to promote ‘Aatmanirbharta’ initiative in Defence.

The products are in the domains of automation/unmanned/robotics systems, cyber security, human behaviour analysis, intelligent monitoring system, logistics and supply chain management, speech/voice analysis and command, control, communication, computer & intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems, and operational data analytics. Besides the 75 products being launched, another 100 are at various stages of development.

In addition, two top defence exporters, one each from the public and private sectors will be felicitated during the event. Responding to a question during the press conference, Additional Secretary Sanjay Jaju said that defence exports have crossed the highest-ever figure of Rs 13,000 crore in Financial Year 2021-22, with 70 per cent contribution coming from the private sector and the remaining 30 per cent from the public sector.

The event will also witness panel discussions on ‘Deploying AI in Defence’, ‘GenNext AI solutions’, and ‘AI in Defence – Industry Perspective’, with active participation from the Services, academia, students, research organisations, and Industry.

A ‘GenNext AI’ Solutions Competition has been organised to get bright innovative ideas from students on futuristic AI solutions. The top three ideas curated by AI experts will also be felicitated. An exhibition of AI products has also been organised. The event is likely to be attended by dignitaries from friendly foreign countries, senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and other Ministries, and representatives from research institutes, academia, and the Industry.