‘ONLY WAY AHEAD’

Despite IAF’s reservations, experts stressed that theaterisation is the only way forward to fight future wars, particularly in an era where the nature of combat is changing. The three services cannot work in silos and air defence is integral to fighting future wars for the era of stand alone aerial weapons like armed UAVs, rockets, missiles and swarm drones has dawned.

“No service should feel that they will have an upper hand or become subordinate to another service. Such thinking does not reflect sound national strategic thinking. We should all be mature enough to take India’s long-term interests into account.”

— LT GEN DB SHEKATKAR (retd),

who headed a committee that recommended the appointment of CD mands