The Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, on Saturday said the IAF was “not against” carving out geographically defined operational joint commands for the armed forces. He, however, cautioned against implementing a “pre-baked” model “picked up” from another country. 

The IAF Chief’s remarks are the first official statement since former Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, before demitting office in May this year, submitted a collective proposal on behalf of the three services to carve out such “joint commands”, referred to by the military as “theatre commands”.

“The idea should be to have a graded, step-wise approach to avoid disruption of operations,” the IAF Chief said while speaking at the Air Vice Marshal Harjinder Singh (retd) Memorial Lecture, hosted by the Air Force Association in Kanpur. The association is a body of retired IAF officers.

The IAF Chief said a step-wise transition would ensure minimal disruption, adding that the military could not afford to shake up the system at a time when the operational tempo remained high.

Though the IAF Chief did not mention it, a key issue will be the division of IAF assets. Some strategic assets could be controlled from Delhi to ensure seamless operations across theatres.

He stressed the importance of identifying actual shortcomings before building a structure tailored to India’s specific security needs. 

Cautioning against adopting imported military models, he said: “The Air Force has been insisting to let us look at it objectively. Look at what is ailing us; we need to fix what is not right with us, and not have something that is pre-baked, picked up from somewhere and used.”

On the way forward, the IAF Chief said there was a need to create a structure suited to India’s requirements. “We need to form an organisation chart in a manner that we need. Some other country may have some different requirements,” he said.

At the IAF headquarters, a “composite team” is examining the issue. The setting up of theatre commands is under discussion at the highest level.

“I am sure the government, whenever a decision is taken, will take the right decision based on all inputs that are given to the government,” he added.

Theatre commands are military formations with geographically defined areas of operation, headed by a military commander who exercises control over war-fighting assets, including aircraft, helicopters, guns, tanks, equipment and manpower.

The proposed theatre commands comprise three distinct entities: the western theatre, focused on Pakistan, which is expected to be headed by an IAF officer; the northern theatre, focused on China, which is expected to be headed by an Army officer; and the maritime theatre command, which is expected to be headed by a Navy officer