NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the seamless coordination displayed by the Army, Navy, and Air Force during Operation Sindoor was a “living example” of how jointness can deliver decisive outcomes, and should serve as a benchmark for all future military operations.
Speaking at a seminar organised by the Indian Air Force (IAF), Singh highlighted how the IAF’s Integrated Air Command and Control System, the Army’s Akashteer air defence network, and the Navy’s Trigun worked in unison between May 7 and 10 during the conflict with Pakistan, creating a unified operational backbone.
He stressed that true jointness rests on dialogue, mutual respect, and appreciation of each service’s traditions and challenges. “Our objective is to strengthen tri-services integration. This is not merely a policy choice but a matter of survival in today’s fast-changing security environment,” he said.
According to Singh, Operation Sindoor produced a real-time operational picture that empowered commanders with timely decisions, enhanced situational awareness, and reduced fratricide risk. “This success must become the benchmark for all future operations,” he asserted.
Cautioning against the growing complexity of warfare, Singh said the interlinked domains of land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace demand collaboration. “While each service is capable of acting independently, only collective strength can guarantee victory,” he said.
He also recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on jointness at the recent Combined Commanders’ Conference in Kolkata.
The minister noted that while the services had built robust practices and systems from decades of experience—ranging from icy mountains to deserts, forests, oceans, and skies—much of this knowledge remained siloed. “If the Army developed something, it stayed with the Army. The same applied to the Navy and Air Force. This compartmentalisation limited cross-learning,” he observed.
Singh urged that such barriers must now give way to open sharing and interoperability. “The world is changing rapidly, threats are more complex, and no single service can operate in isolation. Interoperability and jointness are no longer optional—they are essential for success,” he said.
