Defence conclave lays emphasis on importance of integrated warfighting in future conflicts

New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) A high-level Joint Operations Conclave was held on February 5-6 with the objective of deepening intra-service and inter-service interactions at the operational level of warfare, officials said on Friday.

The conclave, hosted by the Headquarters Western Air Command (HQ WAC), also had the objective of strengthening joint operational capabilities across the defence forces in an increasingly complex multi-domain environment, they said.

The high-level conclave was held under the All Domain Joint Operations (ADJO) Exercise 2026 Framework, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The Western Air Command is based at Subroto Park in New Delhi.

"The conclave was focused on deepening intra-service and inter-service interactions at the operational level of warfare, with the objective of strengthening joint operational capabilities across the Indian defence forces in an increasingly complex multi-domain environment," it said.

The ADJO Exercise 2026 constitutes an important milestone, which is expected to play a decisive role in building a truly interoperable and future-ready joint force capable of prevailing across the full spectrum of modern security challenges, it said.

This initiative reaffirms the steadfast commitment of the defence forces to the principle of jointness, operational synergy and continuous adaptation in pursuit of national security objectives, the ministry said.

The deliberations were attended by senior officers representing the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), the Army, the Navy, the Defence Space Agency (DSA) and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) alongside senior leadership from the Indian Air Force.

In his inaugural address, Air Marshal J S Mann, Senior Air Staff Officer, Western Air Command, emphasised the paramount importance of jointness and integrated warfighting in contemporary and future conflicts.

He highlighted the pressing requirement for an all-domain operational approach that achieves seamless integration across air, land, sea, space and cyber domains, thereby enabling decisive outcomes in contested and denied environments.

Further, Air Marshal Mann emphasised enhancing interoperability among the services, promoting "domain-agnostic decision-making processes", strengthening sensor-to-shooter linkages and refining operational procedures for greater efficiency and effectiveness, the statement said.

Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, highlighted the need to institutionalise joint mechanisms for integrated planning, intelligence sharing and capability prioritisation.

He stressed coherent inter-service responses and structured identification of capability gaps to strengthen comprehensive operational preparedness for future contingencies.

Air Marshal Dixit underscored the importance of advancing all-domain integration to achieve synergistic effects across services and deliver unified operational outcomes.

He advocated accelerated doctrinal evolution and tri-service resource alignment to build a strong unified operational capability and sustained strategic readiness.

Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command, delivered a comprehensive address in which he "drew critical lessons from Operation Sindoor and elaborated on their far-reaching implications for the conduct of future warfare.

He underscored the pivotal role of air power in generating decisive strategic effects, the essential need to synchronise surface manoeuvre with offensive air operations, and the strategic advantage offered by the employment of stand-off weapons.

Air Marshal Mishra advocated a "resolute shift" away from legacy attrition-based models characteristic of the 1971 era, as well as from conventional effects-based operations framework, toward a more agile, adaptive and fully integrated joint warfighting paradigm.

He called particular attention to the imperative of identifying and bridging existing capability gaps, reinforcing convergence across all domains and laying a robust foundation for coordinated, effects-driven responses in the all-domain battlespace. PTI KND RHL