JOINTNESS WAS THE GAME CHANGER

Efforts to braid the three services across all domains into integrated war fighting bore fruit in India’s precise actions in Operation Sindoor

- BY LT GEN. VIPUL SHINGHAL

Operation Sindoor, India's calibrated response to the Pakistan-sponsored terror attack in Pahalgam, was characterised by precise and devastating strikes on Pakistani terror hubs and later on military infrastructure. One of the reasons for its successful execution was the very high level of jointness and integration within the three services, which was the result of a concerted effort led by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the HQ Integrated Defence Staff over the past few years. About 200 tasks and initiatives were identified for fostering jointness. These were distributed over eight clear domains— intelligence, logistics, training, capability development, communications, human resource, maintenance and administration—to be implemented in a time-bound road map.