After Operation Sindoor’s success, Rajnath Singh calls for stronger tri-services integration

Terming “jointness” among the three-armed forces as a “core operational necessity”, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said joint operations during Operation Sindoor, delivered “decisive results” and that success must be a “benchmark” for future operations.

The minister was speaking at a seminar on ‘Fostering greater jointness’, hosted by the Indian Air Force on Tuesday. Referring to the efficacy of joint operations during Operation Sindoor, he said: “The tri‑service synergy produced a unified, real‑time operational picture. It empowered commanders to make timely decisions, enhanced situational awareness, and reduced the risk of fratricide. This is a living example of jointness delivering decisive results, and this success must become the benchmark for all future operations.”

The event took place just two weeks after PM Modi instructed the Ministry of Defence to swiftly implement “concrete steps” to achieve greater jointness among the forces to meet future challenges and prevail under any eventuality. In military terms, jointness is the first step toward creating “theatre commands.” It entails coordination in planning, operations, training, communications and acquisitions.

This should be followed by the integration, or the amalgamation, of different sensors, systems, weapons and networks of each service. The creation of a common commander — the theatre commander — for the execution of tasks should be the next step.

Meanwhile, the minister was categorical on the government’s objective to promote jointness and integration among the three services – the Army, IAF and Navy. “This is not only a matter of policy but a matter of survival in the fast-changing security environment,” Rajnath added.

“The evolving character of warfare makes jointness a core operational necessity rather than a matter of choice… No single service can operate in isolation. Interoperability and jointness are now essential for success in any conflict,” he asserted.

This does not mean erasing the unique identity of each of the services, the minister said adding “integration must respect uniqueness of each force... We cannot impose uniformity where it does not fit. Our task is to create a shared baseline that preserves uniqueness while building interoperability”.

“Each service must feel others understand their challenges, and every tradition must be honoured as we build new systems together,” he said.

Each service possesses the capacity to respond independently; however, the interconnected nature of war makes collaborative strength the true guarantor of victory. The minister announced that work has begun on a joint logistics application, which will integrate the systems of the three services to provide shared visibility of stocks, optimise cross‑service resources and reduce redundant procurement.

Rajnath Singh said that in today’s security climate, compartmentalisation must give way to open sharing and collective learning. He warned that in critical domains such as aviation safety and cyber warfare, divergence in standards could prove disastrous. Even a minor error in inspection can create cascading effects. And if our cyber‑defence systems differ across services, adversaries can exploit the gap, he added.