India releases joint military doctrines for special forces, airborne ops and multi-domain warfare

Three separate joint military doctrines were released today. These define the role of special forces, airborne operations, and the conduct of simultaneous operations across multiple domains. The doctrines were released at ‘Ran Samwad’ (conversation about warfare), a two-day (August 26-27) brainstorming seminar themed ‘Impact of Technology on Warfare’, hosted by Army War College.

These doctrines lay down the guiding principles, operational concepts, interoperability, and joint frameworks of the three armed forces – the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force. These doctrines would serve as pivotal references for planners, commanders, and operators in the evolving battlespace.

A statement from the office of Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said “the release of these doctrines is a significant stride in enhancing joint operational capability, fostering synergy across the services and ensuring readiness to meet emerging security challenges with precision and resolve”.

Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi and Air Chief Marshal AP Singh were present at the release of the two joint doctrines on ‘Special Forces Operations’ and ‘Airborne and Heliborne Operations’.

On multi-domain operations

The doctrine on ‘multi-domain’ operations says the character of war is changing with the growing importance of space and cyber domains. The doctrine says “the adversary has the capability to unleash actions across multiple fronts simultaneously and often below the traditional threshold of armed conflict”. Critical vulnerabilities can be readily exploited by the adversary, and this necessitates a fresh, comprehensive approach.

It suggests a connected, collaborative, and interdependent approach for operations on land, sea, air, cyber, and space. The doctrine pushes for innovative structures and technologies to counter threats across domains. It suggests having a deterrence by presenting adversaries with simultaneous challenges across all domains.

Doctrine on special forces

Special forces have proven instrumental in executing complex politico-military tasks, often in volatile and high-risk environments. The joint doctrine for special forces provides a cohesive doctrinal framework for integrated development, planning, and employment of special forces. It suggests synergy across the three services and for harmonising existing service-specific doctrines while preserving the operational uniqueness of each.

The doctrine is a convergence of operational philosophies of the special forces of the Army, Navy, and IAF. It facilitates capability enhancement through joint training and standardised procedures. The doctrine draws upon operational lessons from contemporary conflicts and remains dynamic in construct.

“It must be periodically reviewed to ensure relevance and responsiveness,” says the doctrine. It predicts the way forward, saying special forces will increasingly rely on secure communications, data fusion, AI-assisted decision-making, and real-time intelligence to achieve objectives. Additionally, advanced camouflage systems, load management, and enhanced combat medicine technologies will improve operational endurance and survivability.

Autonomous drones, miniaturised sensors, wearable technologies, and AI-driven platforms enhance efficiency while robotics, swarm drones, quantum communication, and cyber warfare tools are redefining operational capabilities.

Airborne operations

The doctrine says airborne operations are an invaluable and indispensable asset in the modern-day battlefield. India’s capability for large-scale and precise airborne deployments has significantly improved. It listed aerial platforms, planes like C-17, C-130J, C-295, besides helicopters CH-47 Chinook and Mi-17 V5, and added “these platforms provide the ability to deliver troops and equipment quickly across long distances, enhancing India's operational response and reach.”

The three armed forces need to project power swiftly across vast distances, which has become an essential military requirement. This would involve deploying troops and equipment by air into an enemy area. The doctrine draws upon the success of long-range missiles in Operation Sindoor and says tactics are evolving.

“With integration of unmanned systems, long-range missiles for fire support, surveillance assets, and communication systems, the tactics for conduct of operations are also evolving.” It suggests that airborne forces can also be employed for early seizure of ports and airfields.

“Thus the operations remain relevant in all three domains — land, sea, and air.”