New Delhi/Mumbai: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan on Wednesday underscored the changing character of modern warfare, describing it as faster, smarter, and shorter in duration, marked by a high operational tempo and instantaneous effects.
Speaking at an event at IIT Bombay, Gen. Chauhan cited Operation Sindoor as an example of contemporary high-tempo conflict, a high-intensity war while stressing the need for India to be prepared for short but intense wars amid continuing territorial disputes with both of its neighbours.
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“Warfare in the new domains is faster and smarter. It's also shorter in duration, and the tempo of that warfare is very, very high. Decisions are compressed in time, and the effects of that war are felt almost instantly. This was clearly evident in Operation Sindoor, a war that lasted only about four days, resulting in a decisive victory. But all domains of warfare were used simultaneously with a great amount of tempo,” he said while addressing the gathering.
The CDS underlined that multi-domain operations were no longer optional but an operational necessity, noting that actions in one domain now have immediate implications across others.
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“The question is, what kind of threats and challenges should India be prepared for? I think this should be based on two major facts. One is that both our adversaries, one is a nuclear weapon state and other is a nuclear armed state. We should not allow that level of deterrence to be breached,” he said.
“We have territorial disputes with both of them. We should be prepared to fight short-duration, high-intensity conflicts to deter terrorism, something like Operation Sindoor. We should be prepared for a land-centric, long-duration conflict because we have land disputes, yet we try to avoid it. We must exploit new domains and create asymmetry with our weaker adversary and yet not allow these asymmetries to be exploited by other nations,” he added.
Operation Sindoor was launched by India on May 7 to avenge the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. The operation resulted in heavy damage to terror infrastructure located in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan.
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