India Unveils Three Joint Military Doctrines to Strengthen Armed Forces Integration
In a landmark step towards strengthening military integration and enhancing operational capabilities, India on Wednesday released three new joint doctrines for the armed forces. These doctrines aim to address modern warfare challenges, improve interoperability, and align India’s defense strategy with evolving security threats.
Boosting Jointness and Theaterisation
The doctrines were unveiled as part of India’s ongoing drive toward theaterisation, a key reform aimed at integrating the Army, Navy, and Air Force under unified commands.
-
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan released the Joint Doctrine for Special Forces (SF) operations and the doctrine for Airborne and Heliborne Operations during the Ran Samwad military conclave.
-
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled the Joint Doctrine for Multi-Domain Operations (MDO).
This strategic step comes as India works toward creating a cohesive force structure to address evolving geopolitical and technological challenges in the 21st century.
Joint Doctrine for Special Forces Operations
The SF doctrine lays a foundation for joint planning, execution, and capacity building for elite forces across the Army’s Para (SF), Navy’s MARCOS, and Air Force’s Garud units.
Key highlights:
-
Unified Training: Special Forces Training Schools will be upgraded into Joint Service Training Institutes (JSTIs), designated as Centres of Excellence for specific competencies.
-
Operational Focus: Emphasis on advanced skills like night insertions, adverse-weather extractions, precision-guided munition targeting, and electronic warfare integration.
-
Command Structure: While regional commands will continue to control SF, integrated structures like Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) will lead joint operations.
-
Interoperability: Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), common communication systems, and joint training programs will ensure rapid coordination and high adaptability.
General Chauhan’s foreword described this doctrine as a “unified philosophy” for elite forces to address complex security challenges across land, maritime, and air domains.
Airborne and Heliborne Operations Doctrine
The second doctrine focuses on strengthening India’s airborne and heliborne capabilities to ensure mobility and precision in conflict zones.
-
The document emphasises integration of advanced technologies with joint-service cooperation.
-
It outlines principles for ensuring rapid deployment and decisive action, from peacetime missions to high-intensity warfare.
-
General Chauhan’s foreword highlights that this doctrine ensures India’s airborne and heliborne units remain a credible pillar of national military power.
This approach seeks to modernise air mobility assets and synchronise tactics, training, and technology to respond effectively in multi-theatre scenarios.
Multi-Domain Operations: Preparing for Future Warfare
The third and most futuristic doctrine introduces Multi-Domain Operations (MDO), marking India’s entry into next-generation warfare strategies that span land, sea, air, space, cyber, and cognitive domains.
-
MDO aims to create a resilient, agile, and technologically empowered force structure.
-
The doctrine highlights the use of advanced technologies to ensure that decision-makers and warfighters have real-time battlefield integration.
-
This is India’s first step to formally conceptualise how the three services will “organise, plan, and fight to defeat adversaries across all domains and all levels of war.”
The Defence Ministry called this release a “historic step” toward strengthening jointness and modernising military power in alignment with emerging threats.
Preparing for the Future: Technological Revolution in Warfare
The doctrines underscore how rapidly advancing weapon systems and innovative battlefield strategies will reshape warfare. They call for:
-
Investment in electronic warfare, precision-guided systems, and networked communication platforms.
-
Enhanced joint training for high-risk and high-value missions.
-
Leveraging technology-driven operational synergy to counter asymmetric threats and safeguard national security.
Significance of the Move
This triad of doctrines represents a paradigm shift in India’s military planning. By institutionalising jointness and integrating cutting-edge technologies, India is:
-
Building cohesive and responsive forces for multi-front challenges.
-
Ensuring synergy between services in critical operations like counter-terrorism, maritime security, and cross-border strikes.
-
Preparing for conflicts that are increasingly technology-intensive and domain-spanning.
Conclusion
The release of these joint doctrines demonstrates India’s resolve to modernise its armed forces while ensuring operational readiness for future warfare. By embracing multi-domain thinking, India is stepping closer to creating a fully integrated theatre command structure capable of meeting threats across all spectrums.
These documents will serve as a foundational reference for planning, training, and executing missions that safeguard India’s sovereignty in an unpredictable global security environment.
Comments
Post a Comment