NEW DELHI: Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Wednesday outlined the three-phase approach towards enhancing jointness across the armed forces, at a time when the military is ready to present its theaterisation model to the decision-makers.
Theaterisation, which requires jointness and integration, is a long-awaited reform for the best use of the military’s resources to fight future wars.
The first phase, or ‘Jointness 1.0’, focused on integrating acquisition planning, courses, and operational joint logistic nodes, with three fully operational and four more in progress, Dwivedi said in his address at the National Defence College on Decade of Transformation: Indian Army in Stride with the Future and Nation Building.
“In Jointness 2.0, progress was made in aligning doctrines, standard operating procedures and creating joint maintenance organisations for major platforms. Anticipating Jointness 3.0, the army aims to expand common operational planning process, tech sharing, and resources like UAVs and ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) systems. Efforts to integrate the Central Armed Police Forces are ongoing…,” he said.
Around 180 fields for jointness have been identified, with 30% of the goals achieved and work on the rest being accelerated, he said.
The theaterisation model being pursued involves raising the China-centric northern theatre command in Lucknow, the Pakistan-centric western theatre command in Jaipur, and the maritime theatre command in Thiruvananthapuram.
“Initially, some hiccups were there, and the pace was slow. But now the pace will be very fast,” the army chief had said on October 1.
Jointness came into sharp focus at the Joint Commanders’ Conference on September 5 in Lucknow where defence minister Rajnath Singh made a firm push for cultivating a joint vision, preparing for future wars, and delivering a synergised, swift and proportionate response to provocations.
In September, Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), a single-point organisation for jointness under the defence ministry, conducted a crash course for senior military officers with a focus on boosting jointness and integration among the armed forces, an essential prerequisite to the creation of theatre commands.
In his NDC address, Dwivedi also spoke of force restructuring to boost war fighting capabilities. “The army’s restructuring includes Rebal 1.5 (rebalancing) to refine command, control, and training, with Rebal 2.0 focused on adapting structures for emerging DIME (diplomatic, information, military and economic) interdependencies,” he said.
Key initiatives include, establishing integrated battle groups for the mountain strike corps, forming specialised units like the Signals Technology Experimentation and Adaptation Group (STEAG), which has developed secure mobile networks, and expanding cyber, electronic warfare, and intelligence units, he added.
The army raised STEAG earlier this year to tap futuristic technologies, including artificial intelligence, 5G, 6G, machine learning and quantum computing, for their military applications.
The army is advancing its modernisation efforts to prepare for future conflicts through enhanced capabilities across weapons, systems, and logistics, adaptable to high-altitude and diverse terrain operations, he said.
“Precision fire capabilities are being refined with a focus on accuracy, long-range munitions, and effective post-strike assessments… Logistics efficiency is being enhanced with the use of logistic drones and robotic mules, with a tri-service approach to inventory management”.