Multi-Domain Warfare

Gen. B.K. Sharma (retd)

Operation Sindoor, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and hybrid conflicts across West Asia together illuminate the evolving character of Multi Domain Warfare (MDW)--a paradigm marked by operations across the spectrum of hybrid operations, technology integration, AI-driven OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act), drone and missile warfare, integrated use of cyber, space, and cognitive dominance. This leads to strategic ambiguity that reshapes the character of modern warfare.

These conflicts demonstrate the convergence of kinetic and non-kinetic actions, involving both state and non-state actors, across multiple domains, including land, air, sea, cyberspace, space, and cognitive domains. For India, confronting collusive multi-domain threats in a grey-zone environment and complex escalation matrix dictates urgent doctrinal, strategic and operational lessons.

Operation Sindoor

The India–Pakistan confrontation since the Pahalgam terrorist attack, culminating in Operation Sindoor, alongside the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the conflicts in West Asia, marks a defining moment in the evolution of contemporary MDW. Operation Sindoor signalled a doctrinal shift in India’s counterterrorism strategy, elevating state-sponsored terror to an act of war and collapsing the line between sub-conventional and conventional deterrence. Simultaneously, the Ukraine and West Asia theatres reinforce the strategic impact of proxy warfare, digital kinetic attacks, urban combat, information dominance, and multi-domain contestation. These conflicts accelerated therecalibration of India’s key instruments of national power, which include diplomatic, informational, military, economic, and technological (DIME-T) elements.

A Doctrinal Watershed:Operation Sindoor was India’s calibrated military response to the 22 April 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam, which targeted Indian tourists and was attributed to Pakistan-based group, The Resistance Front, an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Marking the most assertive use of force since the 2019 Balakot airstrikes, India launched multi-domain precision strikes on May 7 against nine terrorist camps deep inside Pakistan. These were followed by escalatory strikes on eight critical airfields, including the Nur Khan airbase, in response to Pakistani drone and missile incursions. Under intense military and diplomatic pressure, Pakistan proposed a ceasefire on May 10, which halted further hostilities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the nation, darkened the contours of India’s red lines by clearly clubbing the Pakistan establishment with the terrorist ecosystem and stating that terror, trade and the flow of Indus water will not go together. He called Pakistan’s nuclear bluff and reiterated India’s resolve for future strikes in the event of acts of cross-border terrorism.

Key Takeaways
Strategic Paradigm Shift:The operation was grounded in a clearly defined political directive of a proportionate and time-bound response, primarily to target terrorist infrastructure, including in the very heart of Pakistan’s Punjab Province. India challenged two long-standing assumptions in Islamabad that nuclear threats would deter Indian military action, and that terrorism occupies a separate category from conventional conflict. India, in effect, demonstrated that future terrorist attacks may be treated as the initiation of traditional hostilities, placing the burden of de-escalation on Pakistan. India no longer accepts that the burden of proof lies with it to establish the Pakistani state’s complicity. The continued anti-India activity of terrorist groups on Pakistani soil is seen as a sufficient justification for a military response. Operation Sindoor should be viewed as India’s resolve and the military capabilities to punish Rawalpindi, disregarding its nuclear bluff.

Pre-emptive Precision Strikes: By precisely hitting nine terrorist infrastructure nodes while avoiding civilian and military installations, India reaffirmed its capabilities of a measured and calibrated response. India’s ability to undertake retaliatory action without releasing granular proof of Pakistani involvement was internationally accepted, indicating a shift toward intent-based legitimacy in counterterrorism. However, this approach highlighted the concerns about compressed decision-making windows and heightened risks of rapid escalation with a rogue state and its non-state actors. The need to institutionalise rapid attribution frameworks and maintain diplomatic flexibility in the escalation domination matrix becomes evident.

Dynamic Responsive Escalation Doctrine: India demonstrated sophisticated integration of air, land, naval, and informational assets. The Indian military employed fighter aircraft, BrahMos and SCALP cruise missiles, HAMMER bombs, Harpy and Sky Striker drones, Akash surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), D-4 missiles integrated with the S-400 air defence (AD) system, and electronic warfare (EW), demonstrating a high-precision, stand-off warfare capability. The Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS), powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and supported by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) Centre for Artificial Intelligence (CAIR), enables real-time detection, tracking, and neutralisation of airborne threats. Technological advancements, human intelligence, GIS mapping, satellite-guided targeting, terrain contour matching, inertial navigation systems, and India’s regional satellite navigation system, Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), were utilised.

The coordinated deployment of an array of assets showed a shift toward the Dynamic Responsive Escalation Doctrine and Multi Domain Operations (MDO). Strikes on sensitive targets like the Nur Khan and Bholari airbases displayed a willingness to penetrate Pakistan’s strategic depth, signalling a shift from tactical retaliation to strategic coercion. The widespread use of drones and missiles introduced ambiguity in intent and scale, risking misinterpretation in a jittery nuclear environment. It emerged that India must develop robust counter-UAV systems, real-time drone attribution technologies, and rules of engagement for sustained grey-zone scenarios.

Collusive MDW Threat:The recent conflict once again reinforced China’s open support for Pakistan, be it Rawalpindi’s narrative on terrorism, toning down the UNSC resolution on terrorism, or overt military support. China supplies 81 per cent of Pakistan’s military hardware and satellite imagery, from the BeiDou satellite constellation, as well as cyber and electronic EW capabilities. Pakistan effectivel