In his first comprehensive articulation on the theaterisation plan, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said on Sunday that the Indian Air Force is not viewing it as an exercise to permanently divide fighter assets geographically, advocating instead for a structure built around India's specific security requirements rather than replicating foreign models.
In an exclusive interview to PTI, the Air Chief Marshal said the guiding principle for theaterisation should be "centralised control" where necessary and "decentralised execution" where appropriate as he cited ongoing conflicts in various geographies to assert that air power can decisively shape military outcomes.
Air Chief Marshal Singh also emphasised that the "transformation of this scale" should be implemented in phases so that operational readiness is "never compromised" and warned against the "trap" of trying to predict the future battlefield with "excessive certainty".
Referring to Operation Sindoor, Air Chief Marshal Singh said it was carried out under a joint architecture established by the Chief of Defence Staff and the three service chiefs where the centralised allocation and swift reallocation of critical assets proved decisive.
Announced in 2019 as India's most ambitious military reform since Independence, the theaterisation plan seeks to integrate the three services for greater operational synergy.
The proposed architecture envisaged three integrated commands: a Northern Theatre Command in Lucknow focused on China, a Western Theatre Command in Jaipur to address challenges from Pakistan, and a Maritime Theatre Command in Thiruvananthapuram.
However, progress has stalled due to divergent views among the three services over the proposed command structures. The IAF has been cautioning against implementing the plan in a hurry and has strong reservations in splitting its fighter squadrons under the proposed structures.
"Recent conflicts around the world have once again underlined how decisively air power can shape military outcomes. That is precisely why the question of how air power is organised matters so much," the IAF Chief said.
"We are not viewing theaterisation as an exercise to permanently divide fighter assets geographically. The IAF is fully committed to jointness and integration," he said, outlining the IAF's vision for the project.
Air Chief Marshal Singh noted that the real question is how to employ air power to its greatest effect within an integrated structure, arguing air power's defining strengths are its speed, reach, flexibility and ability to concentrate combat power rapidly at the point of decision.
"An aircraft is not relevant only to the geographical area from which it operates. With aerial refuelling, long-range weapons, networked sensors and appropriate basing, air power can be massed from considerable distances and shifted between sectors as the threat evolves," he said.
"The guiding principle should, therefore, be centralised control where necessary, and decentralised execution where appropriate. That way, air power can be concentrated where it is needed most, while commanders retain the agility to act swiftly on the ground," he said.
The Chief of Air Staff, then, highlighted how the joint structure during Operation Sindoor produced desired results.
"Our own experience bears this out. During Operation Sindoor, under a joint architecture established by the Chief of Defence Staff and the three service chiefs, the centralised allocation and timely reallocation of critical resources proved decisive in the outcome."
"The tri-service air picture I described a moment ago is what made such dynamic employment possible," he said.
Air Chief Marshal Singh also called for avoiding the trap of trying to predict the future battlefield with "excessive certainty".
"As we design future structures, we must also avoid the trap of trying to predict the future battlefield with excessive certainty. What we can anticipate is that the next conflict will likely be: faster, more autonomous, yet more network-dependent, more transparent, yet more deceptive and more precise in some respects, and characterised by mass in others," he said.
"Our structures must be able to absorb that shift. They should be evaluated against India's specific security requirements, not built by replicating models from other countries, because each nation operates within its own strategic, geographical, technological and operational environment," he noted.
"A transformation of this scale should also be implemented in phases, so that operational readiness is never compromised," he said.
The Air Chief marshal said the IAF is a committed partner in this national effort. "We will work hand in hand with our sister Services to build structures that are distinctly Indian, that preserve the inherent flexibility of air power, and that ensure India fights its future wars as one," he said.
The IAF chief added that future conflicts will be multi-domain by their very nature, and the three services will plan and operate together "far more closely than ever before."
Under the theaterisation model, the government seeks to integrate the capabilities of the Army, Air Force and Navy and optimally utilise their resources for wars and operations.
As per the theaterisation plan, each of the theatre commands will have units of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force and all of them will work as a single entity looking after security challenges in a specified geographical territory.
At present, the Army, Navy and the Air Force have separate commands.
Monitoring developments in Indo-Pacific
The Indian Air Force is closely monitoring the situation across the Indo-Pacific and focusing on a specific set of capabilities, including ability to operate effectively over extended distances, to safeguard India's national interests, Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh.
His remarks came amid growing global concerns over China's increasing military muscle-flexing in the resource-rich region even as India, the US and other leading powers have been pressing for an open and peaceful Indo-Pacific.
The Chief of Air Staff emphasised India's core priorities: safeguarding its national interests, sovereignty, and strategic autonomy while advocating for a rules-based Indo-Pacific.
"From the IAF's perspective, this demands a specific set of capabilities. We need reach, persistent surveillance, air mobility, air-domain awareness, networked command and control, and the ability to operate effectively over extended distances," he said. "Our strategic posture in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands provides a critical springboard for operations in the eastern Indian Ocean Region. Aerial refuelling and airborne early warning give us the reach and awareness to operate far from our shores," he said.
Without naming any country, Air Chief Marshal Singh also deliberated on the fast-evolving geopolitical upheavals in the region.
"The Indo-Pacific has become central to global security, and it is marked by growing military activity, strategic competition and contestation," he said.
"Recent developments across the region, including in its maritime spaces, underline the need for vigilance, credible deterrence and greater regional cooperation," he stressed.
The Chief of Air Staff, elaborating on the IAF's preparedness, highlighted how his force is ramping up engagements with the air forces of like-minded countries to build "capability and trust" as "trust itself is an enduring contributor to regional stability."
"As for preparedness, we are closely monitor developments across the Indo-Pacific. Our approach is not threat-specific. We are building an IAF that can detect emerging challenges early, operate across multiple domains, and generate the required effects wherever India's national interests demand," he said.
He said the IAF is "ready, and will remain ready" to safeguard India's security. "We are also strengthening interoperability with friendly air forces through increasingly complex exercises and operational engagements. Recent IAF deployments to Australia, Malaysia and Thailand have given us valuable experience in extended-range operations, area familiarisation, large-force employment and maritime air operations," he said.
India has been working closely with Quad member nations of the US, Australia and Japan to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and the grouping has rolled out a number of initiatives in the last few years to this effect.
Air Chief Marshal Singh also cited examples of the IAF's engagements with friendly air forces to build capabilities.
"In February 2026, for instance, IAF Su-30MKI fighters operating from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands conducted an in-situ exercise with the Royal Thai Air Force over the Indian Ocean," he said.
"They were supported by IL-78 tankers and our airborne warning and control aircraft. Engagements of this kind build both capability and trust, and that trust is itself an enduring contributor to regional stability," he said.
"Alongside these partnerships, the capabilities I have already spoken of, from ISR (intelligence-surveillance, reconnaissance) and space-enabled systems to electronic warfare, precision weapons, unmanned systems and resilient networks, will matter just as much over the vast maritime spaces of the region," he noted.