The Indian Armed Forces will mark the anniversary of Operation Sindoor — the skirmish against Pakistan in May last year — by holding a brainstorming session of the three services to discuss future warfare, emerging domains such as cyber and space, and ways to further self-reliance in military technology.
A two-day ‘Joint Commanders’ Conference’ will be held in Jaipur on May 7 and 8 to deliberate on “military capability in new domains”. The conference coincides with the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will attend the event.
The Ministry of Defence said that “modern warfare is transitioning into a more complex and tech-driven paradigm”, pointing to the transformative impact of artificial intelligence, the development of unmanned systems, and emerging threats that extend beyond traditional battlefields to invisible frontiers.
The conference will provide a forum to assess challenges in emerging domains such as cyber, space and cognitive warfare, and to chart a roadmap for capability development for a resilient and future-ready force with a decisive edge.
A key focus will be on accelerating indigenisation and Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in defence production by fostering a domestic ecosystem of innovation.
The conference will also feature demonstrations of in-house developed futuristic applications and the release of new doctrines related to future warfare concepts and operational strategies.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan is expected to brief the joint commanders on the proposal to create theatre commands.
Three sets of recommendations on theatre commands have been submitted to the Ministry of Defence, the CDS had said during a lecture at the United Service Institution on May 4.
At the conference, the top leadership of the three Armed Forces will be apprised of the way forward on enhancing jointness and moving from coordination to unity of effort.
Theatre commands’ is military jargon for creating geographically defined areas of operation, with a military commander heading them and controlling all war-fighting assets such as aircraft, helicopters, guns, tanks, equipment and manpower.
The concept of geographically defined theatre commands also has another aspect — how the plan will be operationalised. There are some differences over the process of implementation, and the three service chiefs have given their respective opinions on the matter, which form part of the proposal submitted to the Ministry.
Under the plan, the western theatre, focused on Pakistan, would be headed by an Indian Air Force officer, while the northern theatre, focused on China, would be led by an Army officer. The maritime theatre command, on expected lines, would be headed by a Navy officer.
The Tribune had reported in its April 9 print edition that the contours of the theatre commands have been finalised.
