India's multi-domain doctrine and the future of conflict in Asia

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on August 27 released India's first-ever joint doctrine on Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) during Ran-Samwad 2025, a tri-services seminar held at the Army War College, Mhow.

- GAURAV KUMAR

This 47-page doctrine, now available on the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) website, marks a major shift in how India's Armed forces think about future conflicts.

The release of the joint doctrine on Multi-Domain Operations by the IDS is a watershed in Indian military thought. For the first time, the armed forces have formally acknowledged that wars of the future will be fought as much across satellites, networks, and narratives as across trenches, seas, and skies.

The MDO doctrine is only a start. It will take time to translate its requirements into actual or visible changes. What they do, however, is throw the spotlight on the steps being taken towards greater jointness, an essential prerequisite for the creation of theatre commands, a subject that has been at the centre of much debate and discussion in recent months.

As Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Anil Chauhan notes in the foreword, the doctrine is "The first step by the Indian Armed Forces to define and understand this new way of conducting operations. It broadly conceptualises how the three Services will organise, plan, and fight to defeat the adversary in any domain, at any level of war."

The release signals intent, but the challenge lies in translating this conceptual clarity into organisational capabilities & joint structures.

As US FM 3-0, U.S. Army Doc 2022 defines MDO as, "Multi-Domain Operations are the combined arms employment of joint and Army capabilities to create and exploit relative advantages that achieve objectives, defeat enemy forces, and consolidate gains on behalf of joint force commanders."