Creation of Theatre commands in India: The IAF Context
Dr Rajneesh Kumar
Background
The
idea of Theatre Commands in simple terminology means creating geographically
defined areas of operations, each commanded by a single military commander who
controls the entire war-fighting assets i.e. aircrafts, systems, guns, tanks,
support equipment and the manpower operated by the armed forces. The idea has
been in use in countries like the USA, China, UK, France and Russia.
The
Kargil Review Committee formed in the aftermath of the Kargil war had
recommended the idea of jointmanship in the operations which till that time was
missing with each of the armed forces i.e. Army, Navy and the Air Force
fighting a battle guided by their own Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in
absence of a joint operating philosophy. It was the Shekatkar Committee,
appointed by the Indian Ministry of Defence and chaired by Lt General DB
Shekatkar (Retd), which was formed to enhance the combat potential of the armed
forces and rebalance defence expenditure. The committee’s report suggested
three specific theatre commands i.e. one for the China border (Northern), one
for the Pakistan border (Western) and one to function in the maritime role
(Southern). The committee recommended the creation of integrated theatre
commands in its report submitted in December 2016.
Since
then, there has been a debate in the country on whether to have the theatre
command structure or otherwise. The matter shot to significance when on January
1, 2020, Gen Bipin Rawat was appointed as the first CDS, followed by General
Anil Chauhan, who succeeded him in September 2022. The appointment of the CDS
brought home a sense of urgency stating that there was need to “move things
faster”. However, in due course the reality that all the three services are
certainly NOT on the same platform as far as the adoption of the theatre
command is concerned, also came to the light in various forums.
Theoretical
Context of Theatre Command Structure of the Three Services
Theoretically
there are certain arguments which can be appreciated in Favour of Theatre
Command Concept for the three services in Indian context:
Ø It
facilitates the unified command and control by having an innate arrangement to integrate
the elements of Army, Navy and Air Force under a unified command structure,
reducing any duplication of efforts and confusion in the conduct of the joint
operations.
Ø It
promotes an improved operational efficiency by enabling a faster
decision-making through reduction in the inter-service coordination delays,
especially during high-intensity conflicts.
Ø It
helps an optimal resource utilisation by way of pooling and sharing the vital resources
like logistics, air assets and intelligence, thereby ensuring better
cost-effectiveness.
Ø It
has the potential to enhance the joint warfighting capability by promoting
joint planning, joint training and joint execution of operations, the
prerequisites essential for modern multi-domain warfare.
Ø This
can also ensure better response to multi-front threats especially in the Indian
context of potential simultaneous threats from China and Pakistan, that merit a
multidomain coordinated action.
Ø It
has the potential to support the operations through streamlined logistics and procurement
thereby reducing the redundancy in infrastructure, supply chains and
procurement, in complete alignment with the philosophy of the “Atmanirbhar
Bharat”.
Ø This
apart, the concept provides for a future-ready structure by preparing the
Indian Armed Forces for a network-centric as well as hybrid warfare, that may include
also the cyber and space domains.
Overall,
it facilitates an improved civil-military synergy by catering for a unified
command structure that simplifies the higher defence planning at the level of
the Ministry of Defence and National Security Council.
Theaterisation:
The IAF Context
A
point that the theatre command structure is not desirable for the IAF was cogently
and strongly brought out by the IAF Chief recently. The viewpoint significantly
relating to the theaterisation of the Indian Air Force (IAF) assets recently surfaced
when, the present IAF Chief during Ran Samvad, brought home a point that “we,
for now, don’t need any new structure (theatre commands) at the lower level”.
The Chief of the Air Staff further stated that that core competence of each
service should be retained in any structure of jointness. The IAF Chief rightly
suggested an alternative to the theatre commands, saying that “let us have a
joint planning and coordination centre in New Delhi. We will plan centrally and
de-centralise he execution of tasks[1]”.
The
argument to support the contention that theaterisation is not required for IAF
largely emanates from the argument that the agility and flexibility of the IAF to
attain a rapid deployment when needed makes a point in favour of the IAF. We
are well aware that the IAF’s capabilities of rapid inter-theatre and
intra-theatre deployment have already been successfully tested and demonstrated
during the Kargil war of 1999 as well as Operation Parakram of 2001-02. The rapid
deployment capability of the IAF has also been successfully validated through
Exercise GaganShakti more than once, with special focus on the two-front war.
This bears significance by virtue of the fact that the nation will have to be
prepared for such a contingency, given the current dynamics of the global
geopolitics.
Considering
the duly validated rapid deployment capability of the IAF over a relatively
smaller geographical terrain which India possesses compared to larger nations
like the USA and China, the inter-theatre spread and distribution of the IAF
assets does not seem desirable.
This
apart, blessed by the inherent agility, the focus of the IAF has always been on
a lean and smarter force structure. Contrary to this, the theaterisation of the
IAF assets might result into multiplicated deployment of the asset holding in
each theatre, which practically would serve no purpose besides being
economically unviable. Presently, the IAF has geographically deployed its
assets and fleets, as per the operational and logistical requirements apart
from having also used a mix of the aerial platforms operating at the geographically
diverse bases, in the Kargil war, Balakot air Strikes and recently in the
Operation Sindoor with same professionalism.
It
is worth a mention here that the IAF today operates not only in the wartime but
also peacetime roles. This apart, the IAF platforms are used also as a force enabler
during the Internal Security operations (i.e. Anti Naxal Operations) and while
deployed in the Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HADR) roles, within as well
as beyond the Indian national boundaries. This type of successful activity
needs a unified chain of command as the key to facilitate rapid action under
the directions of a centralised authority, which is presently the Central
Government through the Ministry of Defence percolating to the operational
levels through the Chief of the Air Staff.
Way
Forward
At
the heart of any transformation lies a simple idea that the operations must
always be mission-first and nation always, with each of the services continuing
to manage their mandated tasks in their respective spheres. The Theatre
Commanders will no doubt command the operations, but the fighting forces must remain
managed in a way that they can be re-tasked as per the national requirements
within the shortest possible timeframes. This balance would ensure that the flexibility
especially in respect of air power never gets compromised.
The
Indian Air Force’s scarce assets should continue to be utilised through a
national model, preventing fragmentation and at the same time preserving the
ability to surge effects where needed most. It is important as the approach has
to be evolutionary and not revolutionary completely avoiding any risky
“big-bang” reorganisation.
Seen
in this perspective, the theaterisation of the IAF assets under different
theatre commanders would definitely defeat the agility of deploying the assets
in pursuance of the operational objectives as per the national aspirations.
In
other words, advocating the theaterisation of the IAF assets guided by a mere
desire for having the luxury of owning the IAF assets theatre wise, certainly falls
weak while debating the inter-theatre deployment of the IAF assets.
[1]
Ajay Banerjee, “Day after IAF Chief opposed proposal to set up theatre
commands, Admiral Tripathi backs it”, Tribune News Service, Aug 28, 2025, https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/day-after-iaf-chief-opposed-proposal-to-set-up-theatre-commands-admiral-tripathi-backs-it/, Accessed on August 30, 2025
Comments