Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) are no longer a conceptual buzzword but an emerging operational reality, driven by advances in data analytics, artificial intelligence and the changing character of conflict, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said on Friday.
Delivering the closing address at the Tri-service 'Ran Samvad' seminar in Bengaluru, General Chauhan said: "MDOs were chosen for this year's theme not because it's a buzzword, but I think it's a kind of new reality."
He underscored the urgent need for India's armed forces to evolve into an integrated, agile and technologically driven warfighting instrument capable of operating seamlessly across multiple domains.
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General Chauhan observed that conflict is no longer confined to the physical domain. "All warfare till now has been in the physical domain. Then for us to imagine that warfare will move into a new kind of reality, synthetic in nature and cognitive in nature, is actually difficult to understand," he said.
General Chauhan introduced the concept of multi-dimensional warfare, expanding beyond traditional domains of land, sea and air.
"Whenever warfare is in the physical realm, we've seen it was two-dimensional; probably the invention of aircraft, etc., put a third dimension to this warfare. But today, again, we are at a cusp of a moment where you can say time is the fourth dimension of warfare... that's happening because the battle space has expanded phenomenally..."
Elaborating on the fourth dimension, he said, "A new dimension of time in which events are occurring at various speeds is itself challenging. We need to understand this compressed and expanded time on the same battlefield because then it creates a new kind of dimension."
The CDS said cyber and electromagnetic spectrum may form the fifth and sixth dimensions of warfare. "The seventh dimension could be cognitive warfare. We are maybe moving into an era of not only multi-domain but also multi-dimensional warfare in the future."
On Thursday, the CDS had announcedthat the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) is in the final stages of creating a new body that will guide the ‘strategic communication’ of the armed forces in order to shape “influence and legitimacy” in modern warfare. The strategic communication cohesive will include cognitive warfare and perception management to coordinate efforts across all three services, especially perception management, but will also operate independently in the domain of cognitive warfare.
He argued that warfare must also be viewed at the political level, where outcomes are shaped beyond battlefield victories.
"If you can achieve your political objectives without actually firing, then of course, it's a different kind of reality," he said, noting the increasing role of information manipulation and influence operations.