The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) lingering concerns about the current theaterisation model indicate that interservice differences have still not been reconciled, and raised concerns that the lack of consensus on joint structures may further delay the military reform needed to best utilise resources for future wars and operations, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The debate over the theaterisation model, which moved to the back-burner after India’s first chief of defence staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat was killed in a helicopter crash last December, was reignited last week when IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari fully backed close coordination between all elements of the armed forces to counter a range of aerial threats, but said the creation of a separate air defence command “may prove counterproductive”.
The model under discussion seeks to set up four new integrated commands for synergy in operations — two land-centric theatres, an air defence command, and a maritime theatre command.
