'Busted myth of short wars': Navy chief on US-Iran conflict in West Asia

NO serve put up struggle a modern font state of war alone, and only theaterisation can align the military’s strategic vision and capabilities, said Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, who retires on Sunday. Theaterisation— a long-awaited reform to integrate the military’s resources for future conflicts — seeks to maximise combat effectiveness across all domains of warfare: land, sea, air, cyber, space, and the cognitive realm, he said.In an interview with HT, Tripathi spoke about several issues, including the urgent need for theatre commands for battlefield dominance, lessons from the war in West Asia, India’s maritime posture in the Indo-Pacific and the navy’s likely role if India launches Operation Sindoor 2.0.Why is it vital for India to roll out joint commands as soon as possible?Modern conflicts demand much closer integration of strategic thought and technological capability, making jointness an absolute necessity. Theaterisation is fundamentally about enhancing operational effectiveness, unity of effort, integrated planning, and speed of response across land, sea, air, cyber, space, and cognitive domains. No single service can operate in isolation under these conditions. Operation Sindoor clearly demonstrated the advantages of integrated planning and operational synergy among the three services. All stakeholders operated with a singularly clear focus, aided significantly by the freedom and flexibility given to teams at all levels— from the Chiefs of Staff Committee to the tactical level—in planning, preparation, and execution. Jointness is no longer optional—it is an operational necessity. Theaterisation is about operational effectiveness, not just organisational restructuring.What lessons has the navy drawn from the ongoing war in West Asia?One thing is clear — distance from conflict no longer means distance from its consequences. It has also thoroughly debunked the myth of short and swift wars. The conflict has reinforced that maritime security and economic security are inseparable. Disruptions immediately affect shipping lanes, trade flows, insurance costs, and national economies. The character of the battlespace has shifted profoundly. It is now multi-domain and highly transparent. We are seeing how uncrewed systems allow micro-platforms to deliver macro-effects at sea, shifting us from linear kill chains to networked, AI-driven kill webs. Strategic depth no longer guarantees sanctuary due to long-range precision strike capabilities. Overlapping actions by state and non-state actors complicate attribution.India is about to finalise Project-75I for building next-generation conventional submarines. What is your assessment of India’s underwater capabilities?The undersea domain is a critical dimension of maritime warfare and deterrence. Underwater capability enhancement continues to remain a major priority for the Indian Navy. P-75I is a strategically important programme aimed at progressively building indigenous capability in the design, development, and manufacture of advanced conventional submarines in India. Timelines and processes are currently progressing through the established procurement procedures, and we expect to conclude the contract early. The first submarine is expected to be inducted by 2033, followed by the delivery of one submarine every year until 2038...How do you view India’s evolving maritime posture in the Indo-Pacific, where China is attempting to boost its presence?We recognise that the global environment is moving from an ‘era of cooperation’ to an ‘era of intense competition’. India’s maritime posture has never been about any one country alone; it is about protecting our national maritime interests and contributing to a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. The Indian Navy achieved this by maintaining robust maritime domain awareness through continuous mission-based deployments across the vast maritime expanse... Over the past two years, we conducted 23 bilateral, 16 multilateral and 70 maritime partnership exercises.What will the navy’s role be if circumstances demand that India launch Operation Sindoor 2.0?If such circumstances arise, the Indian Navy remains fully prepared to undertake any role mandated by the national leadership in defence of India’s sovereignty. Our role will be a direct continuation of our proven readiness, capability, and deterrence potential. Operation Sindoor demonstrated our reach and ability to rapidly deploy combat power. The forward deployment of a carrier battle group (CBG) and our aggressive operational posture in the northern Arabian Sea reinforced deterrence and operational dominance. The adversary’s maritime economy was severely impacted by raising shipping risks and insurance premiums, deterring global merchant shipping from their ports. As per the new normal, any notice for sailing to our platforms could be an indication for combat — a direct outcome of Operation Sindoor.