Next Generation Air Warfare in South Asia: Risks and Way Forward

by Zohaib Altaf

In the early days of May 2025, India and Pakistan engaged in a multi-domain war. It was contested using 125 aircraft with ranges over 160 kilometers (km) as well as a variety of drones. For the first time in decades, major cities and military installations were struck directly using artificial intelligence (AI) targeting. This confrontation between nuclear-armed neighbors in South Asia gave observers a glimpse of the alarming future of warfare in the region with the integration of AI into defense.