'The tools of warfare are changing. The MoD must deepen its engagement with technology thinkers that can present compelling visions of where warfare may be heading.'
At last year's edition of the combined commanders' conference, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan urged the armed forces to treat military reform as 'a continuous, institutional process'.
Expectations around reforms did not grow overnight: The last few years have seen a steady convergence of pressure from China's military infrastructure, disruptive technologies that have changed the nature of war, and a recognition that India's command structure needs to evolve with the times.
At the heart of India's defence reforms lies a simple question: Can the armed forces transition from a platform-centred structure to a genuinely integrated technology-driven one?
The ministry of defence (MoD) earmarked 2025 as the 'year of reforms', which basically meant modernisation, self-reliance, and the creation of integrated theatre commands.
This plan included a nine-point agenda that aimed at breaking longstanding institutional silos, fast-tracking emergency procurements and shifting to new domains such as cyber, space, artificial intelligence, hypersonics, and robotics.
India has the legal framework for theatre commanders to exercise administrative and disciplinary authority over personnel from all three services, paving the way for theatre command structures.
Yet, operationally India did not establish even one theatre command in 2025.
"Six years after the creation of the CDS, the fundamental theatre command debate is still unresolved," said Anit Mukherjee, senior lecturer at King's College London.
"The forces have modernised in pockets, but without a joint structure, multi-domain operations are difficult to execute."
"Planning exists on paper -- there is no genuinely integrated acquisition organisation," said Amit Cowshish, former financial advisor (acquisition) in the MoD.
By contrast, China's army operates under a unified western theatre command with real authority over land, cyber, air, electronic warfare, and missile assets.
The procurement puzzle
India has rewritten its acquisition rules several times, from the defence procurement procedure to the defence acquisition procedure to the upcoming revised framework now under review.
Each revision has promised faster decision-making and more transparency. Yet, the experience of industry, particularly the private sector, is still one of long timelines and shifting goalposts.
"You have the Capital Acquisition Wing, DMA (Department of Military Affairs), Department of Defence Production, Finance, Defence Research and Development Organisation -- the services are all separate. People come on deputation, they move on. There is no composite acquisition organisation with accumulated experience," Cowshish said.
The result is predictably uneven outcomes. Smaller contracts move faster, with progress in drones, simulators and tactical communications.
But larger procurements like aircraft, tanks, and submarines continue to face delays.
"The tools of warfare are changing. The MoD must deepen its engagement with technology thinkers that can present compelling visions of where warfare may be heading, and work with private innovators to ensure the service branches are as well-prepared as possible," said Richard M Rossow, senior advisor at the Washington, DC-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
"Right now," Arzan Tarapore, senior fellow at Stanford University, said, "the services sit at the same table and negotiate their priorities. That is not jointness. Without a clear national security strategy that drives capability planning, long-range procurement will remain fragmented."
Last year tested India's defence modernisation in a way policy papers never could, through Operation Sindoor, the largest cross-border retaliatory action undertaken by India since the Balakot strikes of 2019.
The operation featured a range of indigenous weapons like BrahMos that were used in combat for the first time, and India got to measure the strength, weakness, and readiness of its own technology base.
The lessons learnt from this operation have since triggered an arms race between India and Pakistan.
India cleared Rs 1 trillion worth of defence acquisitions in July 2025, with an emphasis on homegrown systems under Atmanirbhar Bharat.
In October, the defence minister introduced the defence procurement manual -- a new set of guidelines that is meant to simplify and streamline the procurement process.
Industry expectations
One major feature of India's defence conversation since 2014 has been the rise of private participation.
Initiatives such as Innovations for Defence Excellence and startup-focused models have attracted innovators.
The view on the ground is simple: Without larger balance sheets for investing in design and intellectual property, micro, small, and medium enterprises will remain small contributors rather than national assets. This is also why 2026 matters.
From the perspective of the services, 2026 is when prototype cycles converge with operational needs.
For the army, that would mean progress on the future-ready combat vehicle to replace the T-72 tank fleet.
The Indian Air Force's agenda is similarly shaped by systems that can enhance decision-speed and survivability.
Unmanned combat aerial vehicle programmes like CATS (combat air teaming system) Warrior and the stealth fighter Ghatak will begin hitting developmental milestones in 2026 and 2027.
The IAF also aims to induct the Astra Mk-II beyond-visual-range missile, which promises longer range and improved seeker performance.
The navy's challenges are also structural.
With the Indian Ocean becoming a space for sustained Chinese presence, the navy has gone back to the fundamentals: New destroyers, frigates, and amphibious platforms that use indigenous combat- management systems, advanced radars, and modular electronics.
New priorities
The government has already signalled that 2026 will involve the largest expansion of India's military satellite network in history.
A plan is in motion to place 52 dedicated defence satellites in orbit by 2029, with early launches by 2026.
This step would give the three services persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance coverage, from Ladakh's high-altitude friction points to shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean.
The Budget also reflects the shift in priorities. As much as 75 per cent of the modernisation allocation of Rs 1 trillion for financial year 2025-2026 was earmarked for procurement from domestic manufacturers.
This year will reveal whether the government is willing to place large and long bets and if the private industry has the capital base and appetite to accept them.
India has a habit of preparing for the last war, and 2026 will show whether it has finally begun preparing for the next one.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
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