Army Chief Details Operation Sindoor's Impact on Multi-Domain Warfare Strategy
Lessons from Operation Sindoor, particularly the critical battle against disinformation, are fundamentally reshaping how the Indian Army prepares for future conflicts, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi declared on Thursday. Speaking at the Ran Samvad 2026 conference in Bengaluru, the Army chief framed these insights as central to the military's strategic shift toward comprehensive multi-domain operations.
Information Warfare: A Major Component of Modern Conflict
General Dwivedi revealed that approximately 15% of the total effort during Operation Sindoor was dedicated to managing information warfare, highlighting how contemporary conflicts extend well beyond traditional battlefields. "The military population today is not just 12 lakh personnel, but 1.3 crore when you include veterans and families. All of them are part of the information space," he emphasized, underscoring the expanded scope of modern military engagement.
Operation Sindoor: A Template for Multi-Domain Synergy
The operation demonstrated conclusively that no single domain determines battlefield outcomes. Ground intelligence networks, when combined with cyber and electronic warfare inputs, enabled precision targeting by Army and Air Force units, while naval deployments influenced the broader strategic calculus. "No single domain decided the battle. It was the sequence and synergy across domains that mattered," General Dwivedi stated, articulating the core principle of multi-domain operations.
One significant institutional outcome has been the establishment of a dedicated Psychological Defence Division, specifically designed to counter disinformation and manage narratives in real time. This represents a formal recognition of information warfare's critical role in contemporary military strategy.
The Era of Permanent, Dispersed Conflict
General Dwivedi characterized the current global environment as one of "dispersed, undeclared, multi-theatre, multi-domain world war," where diverse actors—from traditional combatants to private entities and even individual citizens—continuously shape outcomes. "Every day, a new lesson is drawn and an old myth is shattered," he observed, describing the rapid evolution of warfare dynamics.
Transforming Battlefield Concepts and Capabilities
For land forces, the battlefield has transformed into a layered, multi-domain space where kinetic ground operations now unfold simultaneously with cyber attacks, space-enabled targeting, and electronic warfare. "A commander who sees only his sector sees only a fraction of the battle," General Dwivedi stressed, noting that cross-domain awareness has become as crucial as traditional firepower.
The Army is progressing systematically toward full multi-domain capability through a structured transformation program:
- Doctrine: A joint multi-domain operations doctrine issued in August 2025 provides a common framework across all three military services.
- Exercises: Dedicated multi-domain exercises since 2024, involving other ministries and government agencies.
- Force Restructuring: Implementation of integrated battle groups, Rudra Brigades, Aero Battalions, intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance and special operations brigades, drone batteries, new signal regiments, and all-arms formations.
- Technology Integration: Deployment of drones ranging from first-person-view to heavy-lift systems, advanced cyber networks, and space-based assets.
- Information Warfare: Establishment of new organizations including the Psychological Defence Division.
"In essence, we are largely, if not fully, multi-domain enabled," General Dwivedi asserted. The Army has designated 2026 and 2027 as years of networking and data, following 2024 and 2025 which were focused on technology adoption.
The Three Defining Shifts of Modern Warfare
The Army chief outlined what he termed the "3Ds" of contemporary conflict:
- Dispersion: Forces spread out to avoid concentrated targets.
- Democratization: Advanced capabilities now accessible to smaller and non-state actors.
- Diffusion: No single domain delivers decisive outcomes independently.
These trends necessitate diversification of assets, delegation of command authority, and distributed response capabilities across the military structure.
Challenges and Future Objectives
Despite significant progress, challenges remain in synchronizing operations across domains and different levels of warfare—strategic, operational, and tactical. Non-kinetic domains such as cyber and cognitive warfare require closer integration with conventional military operations.
The overarching goal, General Dwivedi explained, is to advance from "domain silos" to complete "domain fusion"—a six-step progression from independent service operations through coordination, synchronization, and jointness, toward integration and ultimately fusion where distinctions between land, air, sea, cyber, and space domains blur into a unified operational framework.
"The advantage will lie with those who can command technology, not merely operate it," he concluded, emphasizing that future military commanders must evolve into "techno-commanders" capable of delivering effects across all domains simultaneously.
