India Plans To Establish First 'Tri-Service' Base In Mumbai For Enhanced Military Coordination, Here's All About It

The Armed Forces are considering transforming Mumbai into the country's first "tri-service common defence station" for the Army, Navy, and Indian Air Force (IAF), as part of efforts to enhance jointness among the three services in preparation for the creation of integrated theatre commands, according to a report from The Indian Express.

Discussions on this proposal are currently ongoing within the top military leadership, and a decision is expected to be made soon.

India currently does not have any common defence stations, with the Andaman and Nicobar command being the only full-fledged tri-service command established in 2001.

Last year, efforts were made to promote jointness among the services through measures such as inter-service postings.

A common defence station would involve combining all facilities of the Army, Navy, and IAF — including logistics, infrastructure, repair and maintenance, as well as stores and supplies — to optimise resources and operate under a common lead service. In Mumbai, the Navy is expected to be the lead service, given its predominant presence in the city.

Currently, the wings of the three services in Mumbai and its suburbs operate independently. The proposed plan aims to bring logistics, infrastructure, and administration under a unified chain of command.

For instance, the Navy's INS Hamla and INS Karanja, responsible for logistics training and housing a major armament depot, respectively, would be integrated with the Army's ordnance depot, training area, air defence regiment, and IAF units for joint usage.

This integration would enable a single system of delivery for supplies such as fuel and ration, and common items could be repaired at a centralized location.

Under the plan, resources of the individual services, including infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, sports complexes, training facilities, as well as storage, repair, and maintenance facilities, would be shared among all three services.

For example, INHS Asvini, a Naval hospital in Mumbai, currently provides services to personnel from all three services.

This initiative aims to enhance resource optimization and management, reduce duplication of efforts, and establish a unified channel for funds and delivery to avoid redundancy.

Mumbai is expected to be the first common defence station, with Sulur (near Coimbatore) and Guwahati being considered as potential locations for the second and third stations, with the IAF and Army likely to be the lead services, respectively.