Rajnath Singh's message to IAF and military: 'Enhance jointness'

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing standoff with China, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday told top Air Force commanders that the armed forces must be prepared to respond at short notice for any contingency in view of the volatile situation on the borders.

The Indian Air Force Commanders’ Conference, held from November 10 to 12, will brainstorm on situations that may affect national security and focus on measures to enhance operational capability.

Mr Singh said the IAF will play a crucial role in all future conflicts and it needs to harness the capabilities and opportunities offered by artificial intelligence, big data handling and machine learning. He praised the IAF for maintaining a high level of preparedness.

He said the indigenisation efforts through the “Make in India” initiative was starting to show results and the orders of LCA Mk 1A and C-295 will open new opportunities in the indigenous aerospace sector. Expounding on theaterisation, the minister said “enhancing jointness” was essential and the structure must be evolved after closely studying various options, and inputs from all stakeholders would be taken into consideration.

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari, asked the IAF’s commanders to develop multi-domain capability in order to give a swift and befitting response to any misadventures by India’s adversaries. He emphasised on the need for joint training with the Indian Army and the Indian Navy to enable synergised application of combat power in future conflicts. The Air Chief complimented all commanders for the high state of readiness despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The IAF commanders will carry out a comprehensive review of India’s security challenges along the China and Pakistan borders. The armed forces are likely to firm up by the middle of 2022 a roadmap to roll out the theatre commands that are likely to ensure optimum utilisation of military resources and enhance India’s war-fighting capabilities.

Each of the theatre commands will have units of the Army, Navy and Air Force and all will work as a single entity looking after security challenges in a specified geographical territory under an operational commander.

Recently, the Department of Military Affairs, headed by Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat, had asked the three services to complete their studies on the proposed theatre commands by April so that the plan to create the new structures can be expedited.