Parwinder SandhuNew Delhi, May 15 -- Warning that future conflicts will be shaped by autonomous systems, speed of innovation, and integrated operations, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on Friday said India cannot afford delays in developing indigenous unmanned systems and must rapidly build scalable drone and counter-drone capabilities.

Addressing a seminar on Unmanned Aerial Systems and Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems, jointly organised by the Centre for Aerospace Power Studies and IMR, the Air Chief said drones are no longer a futuristic concept but an operational reality reshaping modern combat.

"Drones and the UAS system... it is very relevant, it is there, it is a reality," he said.

He said warfare was shifting from co...