Operation Sindoor reinforced integrated command across tri-services: CISC Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit

India’s experience during Operation Sindoor has reinforced the centrality of integrated command, fail-safe communication and cross-domain capabilities, with all three services (Army, Navy and Air Force) operating on a common network to ensure swift and effective coordination, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC), said on Monday (December 22, 2025).

Speaking exclusively with The Hindu at the 108th convocation of the Technical Entry Scheme course at the Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME), Secunderabad, Air Marshal Dixit explained that coordination during complex military operations begins at the highest level of leadership and is sustained by robust, reliable and secure communication systems.

Beyond communication infrastructure, Air Marshal Dixit highlighted the importance of jointness, describing it as the ability of different services to understand each other’s perspectives, strengths and limitations. He noted that the armed forces had been working consistently towards jointness for the past five to five years through shared training and integrated planning.

He also pointed to the increasing relevance of newer operational domains such as cyber and space, saying their effective integration with traditional land, sea and air capabilities was a key feature of modern operations. “When communication, joint understanding and emerging domains were brought together, it resulted in cohesive and synchronised action across services,” he added.

Addressing a question on whether lessons from the had been reflected in officer training at MCEME, Lieutenant General Neeraj Varshney, Commandant of MCEME, said operational experiences were already systematically incorporated into training curricula.

He said lessons from recent deployments, including along the Chinese and Pakistani borders, had been analysed and integrated into the syllabus at both tactical and technical levels. “Equipment recovered from the field, including drones and other systems, had been studied in detail to familiarise officers and jawans with real-world challenges and countermeasures,” he said.

Lt. Gen. Varshney also elaborated on the layered nature of jointness during Operation Sindoor, noting that it extended from the strategic level to operational execution. “There was an immense amount of coordination and jointmanship throughout the operation, from the top strategic level down to the operational level,” he said.

As part of the course completion, 20 officers of Technical Entry Scheme Course–44 were conferred Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degrees from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).