CDS Gen Anil Chauhan Outlines Vision for Armed Forces Integration While Preserving Service Identities

The CDS said efforts are underway in line with the vision of jointness, (Representational)

New Delhi:

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan emphasized that while pursuing jointness and integration across the armed forces, each service will "retain its individual identity," with their best practices being incorporated into the unified approach.

During an interactive session at Saturday's event, Gen Chauhan highlighted examples from Operation Sindoor that demonstrated effective coordination among the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

He participated in the two-day Indian Military Heritage Festival organized by the defence think-tank USI from November 14-15.

While discussing his book "Ready, Relevant and Resurgent II: Shaping a Future Ready Force," he indicated a possible third volume that would include details about Operation Sindoor.

When questioned about the government's vision for military integration, the CDS referenced India's military response following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 and the subsequent precision strikes.

On May 7, Indian armed forces conducted strikes against multiple terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The CDS emphasized that while jointness is a priority, each service's individual identity remains important due to their specialized roles. "We are trying to take the best practices from each service... not the lowest common denominator, but the highest common factor," he explained.

Gen Chauhan described how seamlessly assets were repositioned to the western border between April 22-May 7, noting that this coordination happened at the one-star officer level without requiring intervention from service chiefs.

For achieving integration, he highlighted how all three services utilize common equipment such as MRSAMs and BrahMos missiles with interoperable inventories.

The officer revealed that the Navy participated in cross-border strikes using their PALM 400 and PALM 120 loiter munitions, which have exceptional range. Though initially unknown to the Army and Air Force, Headquarters IDS facilitated sharing this capability, enabling MARCOS personnel to operate alongside them at land borders.

Gen Chauhan stressed the importance of developing a "joint culture" aligned with planned theaterisation. "Suppose you have a joint headquarters or theatre headquarters in the future, you will have staff which is common. This has to be trained in a common manner, which we are trying to do in a joint staff college."

He also emphasized that "human geography" is equally important as physical geography in modern warfare, particularly for counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations.

"When we are talking of cognitive warfare, psychology warfare, social engineering, unless we don't understand the human geography of that particular place, I don't think it's possible," he added.

The CDS explained that military advantage comes from creating asymmetries against adversaries, which are easier to establish in newer domains than traditional ones. "Today, we are at the cusp, where the traditional domains of land, maritime and air are over, and new domains are important. Space is an important domain, and if there are asymmetries, other nations will exploit these to defeat you in space first."

He contrasted warfare in established domains as "bloody" and "hard-slogging" with conflict in newer domains being "smart, fast and technology-intensive."

The third edition of the Indian Military Heritage Festival brought together military leaders, policymakers, diplomats, scholars, authors, think-tanks, and industry representatives. Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth inaugurated the event in the CDS's presence.

The festival featured an exhibition of military paintings by Lt Col Arul Raj (retd) and the release of publications including "The Sukraniti: Statecraft and Warcraft," "Honours and Awards of the Indian Armed Forces," and "75 Years of India's Contribution to UN Peacekeeping."