Key Points

According to the Indian Army, the address focused on joint operational planning, with particular emphasis on integrated maritime and air warfare. The briefing was attended by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, and Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi.

The event was held amid growing focus on developing joint theatre commands and enhancing coordination among the services in response to evolving threats across domains.

Separately, Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Rahul R Singh, while speaking at the 'New Age Military Technologies' event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Friday, discussed the recently concluded Operation Sindoor, calling it a well-planned military action that demonstrated India's preparedness to stay ahead on the escalation ladder while avoiding full-scale war.

"War is easy to initiate, but it's very difficult to control," he said, underlining the strategic rationale behind the operation and its limited but targeted objectives.

Lt Gen Singh described Operation Sindoor as a "masterly stroke that was played to stop the war at an appropriate time." He said the operation was preceded by thorough intelligence gathering, involving both technical and human intelligence sources.

"A total of 21 targets were identified, out of which nine targets we thought would be prudent to engage," he revealed, noting that the final decision on which targets to strike was taken at the last moment. "It was only the final day or the final hour that the decision was taken that these nine targets would be engaged."

The operation, he said, was designed from the outset as a Tri-Service mission to reflect India's integrated military capability. "We wanted to send the right message that we indeed are an integrated force."

He also stressed that one of the key lessons from the operation was the importance of clear strategic messaging. "There is no scope of absorbing the pain the way we did a few years ago," he said, referring to India's past responses to provocations.

Lt Gen Singh said that the operation demonstrated that India is prepared to act swiftly and decisively while exercising control over the scale and scope of its actions.

"An important consideration was that we should always be at the top of the escalation ladder. When we reach a military objective, we should try and put a stop to it," he added.

He further underlined that real-time monitoring of targets and the availability of credible intelligence were central to the planning and execution of the strikes.

- ANI