India’s Theatre Command Still A Distant Dream: Indian Air Force Not Yet On Board Claims Navy Chief Sunil Lanba

Hinting at a roadblock to closer cooperation between the three defence services, Navy chief and chairman of the chiefs of staff committee (COSC) Admiral Sunil Lanba has revealed that all the three services are not on the same page with regard to creating theatre commands, with specific opposition from the Indian Air Force, reports Hindustan Today.

Lamba stated that “The three services are not in agreement on theatre commands. The IAF is not in agreement.”

A theatre command is a force structure in which certain units from the Navy, Air Force and the Army will be jointly placed under the operational command of a theatre commander, who will be an officer from any one of the services, depending on the nature of the function assigned to that particular theatre command.

Theatre commands are seen as a necessary step in the modernisation of the armed forces for future warfare.

Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies Air Marshal (retd) KK Nohwar, explained the Air Force’s opposition, stating that the Air Force currently has the capability to operate at a very wide range, as demonstrated by the ‘Gagan Shakti’ exercise conducted this year. He said that this flexibility of the Air Force would get compromised if it is incorporated into theatre commands.

The navy chief has called for the creation of a higher defence organisation (HDO) for an integration of battle leadership before the proposal for theatre commands can move forward.