The Indian Army is expected to reorganize under five theater commands by 2022 with defined areas of operation and a seamless command structure for synchronized operations.
Since the military affairs department will soon have additional and joint secretaries after cabinet clearance, the task of reorganizing the three services under theater commands has started with a China-specific Northern Command and a Pakistan-specific Western command under serious consideration. The Chief of the Defense Staff of India, General Bipin Rawat, received the mandate from the government of Narendra Modi to create theater commands very similar to those that China and the United States currently have.
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According to military and national security planners, the northern command’s mandate will start from the Karakoram pass in Ladakh and continue to the last Kibithu outpost in Arunachal Pradesh, with the military mandate to protect the 3,488 kilometers of the Line of Control. Real (LAC) with China. The headquarters of this command could be Lucknow.
The western command’s mandate will be from Indira Col on Saltoro Ridge in the Siachen glacier region to the tip of Gujarat with its headquarters probably in Jaipur.
The third theater command will be the Peninsular Command; the fourth, a full-blown air defense command; and the fifth, a maritime command. The probable headquarters of the peninsular command could be Thiruvananthapuram. The air defense command will not only spearhead the country’s air strike, but will also be responsible for defending the Indian airspace through multi-role fighter jets with all anti-aircraft missiles under its control.
Currently, the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy defend Indian airspace on separate communication frequencies and without synergy. This is despite the fact that all the Headquarters of the Indian Army Corps are located next to an air base, as a result of which there is duplication of effort and waste of expense.
Planners said there is an option to extend this to an aerospace command based on future requirements.
India will have only one maritime command with the possibility of the three-service Andaman and Nicobar Islands command merging with it. The task of the maritime command will be to protect the Indian Ocean and the island territories of India, as well as to keep the sea lanes free and open from any outside pressure.
Although in a nascent stage, the maritime assets of the Indian Navy will be located at Karwar on the west coast, Vishakhapatnam on the east coast, and on the Andaman and Nicobar islands. With China emerging as a threat, the possible headquarters of the Maritime Command could be the new capital of Andhra Pradesh with Port Blair emerging as another important base for naval operations.
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Theatricalization refers to the placement of army, air force, and navy units under a single theater commander. The operational command of such combinations will be in charge of an officer of one of the three services.
“The theater of the commands is imperative to integrate the resources of the three services to maximize the impact in any war. The geographic spread of theaters in India demands unified commands for strategic decisions and critical results that will be possible in the concentrated use of resources, ”said former deputy chief of amry, Lt. Gen. AS Lamba (retd).
According to senior officials familiar with the matter, the five commandos will be headed by the lieutenant general or commanders of equivalent rank, who will be first among equals with the current command chiefs reporting to them. The task of the Army Chief of Staff, Air Chief of Staff, and Naval Chief of Staff will not be operational, but will involve the mobilization of resources for theater commanders as it is in the United States Army.
If the Andaman and Nicobar Command becomes under maritime command as envisioned, then the CDS will have under its command the Special Operations Division of the Armed Forces, the Cyber Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency with manpower extracted from the three services.
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