Indian Air force officers stress for adopting to multi-domain warfare

By R Anil Kumar

Bengaluru. Senior Indian Air Force officers on Friday, April 10, stressed the urgent need for adopting multi-domain operations to address the rapidly evolving nature of modern warfare, as the two-day ‘Ran Samvad-2026’ seminar concluded in Bengaluru.

The deliberations highlighted the expanding battlespace, spanning traditional, cyber, space and cognitive domains and the necessity for seamless integration of capabilities to ensure operational effectiveness and national security.

“Ran Samvad is an extremely timely and appropriate initiative taken at the level of the Chief of Defence Staff,” said Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, underlining the importance of the forum in shaping future military thought.

Kapoor, who is Vice Chief of Air Staff, noted that the theme of the seminar aligns closely with current strategic realities, emphasising collective action across services.

“The topic is absolutely relevant to what we are witnessing today, how everyone must come together to enable and execute multi-domain operations,” he said.

Expressing confidence in the outcomes of the seminar, he added that the discussions would yield actionable insights for the armed forces.

“I am sure that from this seminar, which concludes today after entering its second day, we will carry forward some very key deliverables. These will help us emerge as a highly effective defence force and as a strong nation in conducting any future iterations of warfare, should the need arise,” Kapoor said.

Echoing similar views, Air Marshal Tejinder Singh described multi-domain operations as a transformative shift in military strategy necessitated by technological advancements and the changing character of conflict.

“The concept of multi-domain operations is a new paradigm designed to address the contemporary battlespace, which has expanded due to advancements in non-traditional domains such as space and cyber, along with the cognitive domain,” he said.

Singh, who is Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southwestern Air Command, pointed out that the speed and complexity of modern warfare demand rapid decision-making and integrated responses.

“It is now possible to create multiple operational options within a very short time frame. Therefore, to utilise them effectively, we must transition to this concept of multi-domain operations,” he added.

He further emphasised that the future operational framework would rely heavily on advanced technologies and deeper inter-service cooperation.

“This approach will be technologically intensive, fully collaborative, going well beyond traditional jointness, and will harness new technologies, including artificial intelligence, to achieve information superiority and decision dominance,” Singh said.

Highlighting the defining features of MDO, he said, “Its key attributes are speed, tempo, and synergy.”