NEW DELHI: In a critical step toward jointness before theatre commands take shape, India will have a fully operational tri-service Joint Operations Centre (JOC) by May-end, CDS General Anil Chauhan said Monday.
The New Delhi-based JOC will integrate operational planning and battlefield execution across the Army, Navy and Air Force. The push for such a centre was floated by IAF chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh last year, who had then called for a Delhi-based joint planning and coordination centre, headed by the service chiefs and the CDS.
Speaking at a lecture in the national capital, Gen Chauhan also revealed that three sets of recommendations on theatre command restructuring have been sent to the defence ministry for consideration.
Last month, it was learnt that around 90 per cent of the groundwork for the integrated theatre commands framework had been completed. The proposal has moved to the ministry for vetting, before being placed before higher political authorities, including the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
He further revealed that work is underway on multiple fronts outlined in the Defence Forces Vision 2047 roadmap released in March, including expanding the Defence Space Agency and establishing a Defence Geospatial Agency.
The roadmap also envisions a tri-service Drone Force and a Cognitive Warfare Action Force. On the latter, tangible progress has been made, with the necessary financial clearance secured and paperwork already in motion.
Gen Chauhan also said that a common services Act is being worked out to eventually replace the separate Army, Navy and Air Force Acts.
As reported earlier by TNIE, while the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Act, 2023 has already laid the foundation for greater jointness by empowering cross-service commanders, full-scale theatre commands will require a broader legal framework. This could involve amendments to the existing service Acts or fresh legislation, depending on the final structure.
Describing jointness and integration as a “tedious and slow” process, the CDS said the military has been working across eight verticals, including operations, intelligence, logistics, communications, training and human resources.
On the operational side, he cited advances in integrated air defence with sensors across all three services now streamlines, alongside a joint communications architecture that now allows seamless data flow across the Army, Navy and Air Force.
