Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit hailed Operation Sindoor as a precursor to future theatre commands, which will enhance synergy among the armed forces. He said IAF missions will be better integrated with the Army and Navy, making their effect ‘multifold’.
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC), on Friday said that Operation Sindoor was just a precursor to what theatre commands would look like in the future, with a better synergy among the armed forces. Addressing ANI’s National Security Summit, Air Marshal Dixit said the Indian Air Force will continue to execute the missions in a much better coordination with the Army and the Navy, adding that the effect of each mission and strikes will be “multifold”.
A Glimpse into Future Theatre Commands
“Sindoor was a precursor of what is likely to come in theatre command. There will be a theatre where all information will be coming, and theatre commanders will be able to make decisions, communication will be fail-safe, quick decisions will be taken, and all these will be planned. Sindoor was just a glimpse; we were working on integration and the jointness initiatives over the last 4-5 years,” he said. “We want to achieve segregation between force development and force application. Force development will become the responsibility of the service headquarters, and force application will become the responsibility of the theatre command…The entire world has changed, and we are also slowly changing towards that…Individual components, such as the Indian Air Force, will operate in a single domain. The roles and missions the Indian Air Force has been performing, it will continue to do. But they will be much better integrated with land, with the Navy, and maybe cyber. So the effect of each strike or mission will be multi-fold. This is what we want to achieve,” he added.
Adapting to Multi-Domain Warfare
Further explaining the need for theatre commands, Air Marshal said that warfare is now being fought in multiple domains and fronts. “Then you will have to have the capability of each service and vector, so it has to be applied in a planned manner.”
Creating Asymmetry to Win
When asked if theatre commands will be able to prove useful in dealing with asymmetrical wars in the future, Air Marshal Dixit highlighted that asymmetry has to be created to win any war. “If you look back at 1971, we did Tangail Airdrop, it created a tremendous drop of asymmetry, so the domains which already existed have become strong like land and sea, there we can see capabilities have grown over the years, everybody has matched with everybody else. Through integration, we are able to integrate land with air force or air force with cyber, that is how we will create asymmetry. If we are able to create asymmetry earlier than our adversaries, then we will win,” he said.
Path to Modernisation and Jointness
To modernise the Armed Forces, efforts are underway to restructure forces through the establishment of Integrated Theatre Commands (ITCs) and Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs). These reforms aim to optimise operational preparedness by unifying the Army, Navy, and Air Force capabilities based on geography and function. Studies at the Service Headquarters level are actively exploring Theatre Commands for Land Borders, Maritime, and Joint/Integrated Air Defence to enhance synergy and combat effectiveness.
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan has emphasised that jointness and integration are essential prerequisites for ITCs, which will clearly separate operational roles from administrative Raise-Train-Sustain (RTS) functions, allowing commanders to focus on security and operations. ITCs represent the start of wider reforms toward multi-domain operations, integrating space and cyberspace with traditional domains, and advancing digitisation and data-centric warfare. (ANI)
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