Air Chief Marshal A P Singh Tuesday said the theaterisation plans of the Indian military should not be rushed, while emphasising setting up a joint planning and coordination centre in Delhi under the Chiefs of Staff Committee for bolstering jointness among the three services. He also said that Operation Sindoor once again established the “primacy” of air power.
The Indian Air Force Chief was speaking to Lt Gen Raj Shukla (retd) at a fireside chat on the sidelines of Ran Samwad 2025, a first-of-its-kind two-day tri-service dialogue on war, warfare, and warfighting at the Army War College in Mhow.
He further said creating a new structure while disrupting the existing one is not a good idea at present. The Air Chief’s remarks come months after India carried out Operation Sindoor, executed jointly by the three services.
Having a joint planning and coordination centre in Delhi is what is required, which can be kept under the Chiefs of Staff Committee so that directions can be issued jointly, he said.
“We can start with this first, implement it and see how it pans out. If we need any more structure, we can think about it. But disrupting everything and making one structure now at this time, I do not think it is a good idea,” he said. Talking about the primacy of air power, he said, “It has to be used to get you into a decision point and whether it is war today or tomorrow; I think the relevance of air power will continue to grow. So we need to look at leveraging technology to improve our air and space domain positively …to stay ahead of the curve as far as the adversaries are concerned.”
