NEW DELHI: India will soon have tri-service organisations to handle
cyberspace and special operations in a synergised manner, with another one for space to follow thereafter, in the backdrop of China taking huge strides in these critical areas of modern day warfare.
This was among the key takeaways of the combined commanders' conference at the frontline Jodhpur airbase, which was addressed by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Friday. The Navy, Army and
IAF chiefs, Admiral Sunil Lanba, General
Bipin Rawat and Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, made presentations on the operational readiness and plans of their forces during the conference, which also included defence minister
Nirmala Sitharaman and national security advisor
Ajit Doval.
Chief of integrated defence staff Lt-General Satish Dua, in turn dwelt upon the "progress on jointness and integration" in the armed forces. The new Defence Space Agency,
Defence Cyber Agency and the Special Operations Directorate will all be raised from existing resources without fresh manpower accretion, as was earlier reported by TOI.
Sources said the plans to create the Defence Cyber Agency, which will be headed by a naval two-star general or Rear Admiral, and the Special Operations Directorate, led by an Army Major-General, have been finalized. "But some issues with the space agency, which will be headed by an Air Vice Marshal from the IAF, are yet to be sorted out. The unified agencies will ensure better coordination, planning and training among the three Services," said a source.
These agencies, however, are truncated versions of the original proposal to have full-fledged commands under Lt-Generals (three-star generals) to handle the rapidly-expanding challenges in space, cyberspace and clandestine warfare.
There is also not much forward movement to create the post of a tri-service chief or chief of defence staff to inject some much-needed synergy in logistics, planning, procurements and training among the three forces, who often pull in different directions, as well as to provide "single-point" military advise to the government.
India will also need theatre commands in the long run to integrate the air, land and sea assets under single operational commanders to ensure better preparation for wars of the future, given that the country's defence budget is unlikely to register a major jump in the years ahead.
