Abstract
India commenced a strategic pivot on 27 August 2025 with the unveiling of its Joint Doctrine for Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) by Raksha Mantri, Shri Rajnath Singh at “Ran Samwad 2025”. The Joint Doctrine for Multi-Domain Operations (MDO), enunciated by HQ Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), leads the Indian Armed Forces for future war and dictates a “Whole-of-Nation” approach that fuses military muscle with civilian ingenuity across six frontiers identified as land, sea, air, space, the digital world and the human mind. The aim is to strike with convergent effects, overwhelming an adversary by addressing them from every direction at once (IADN Editorial Team, 2025). The doctrine is laid down over five chapters. Chapter 1 emphasises rapid technological disruption, grey-zone coercion along the LAC, collusive threats and a truncated OODA Loop in future warfare. Chapter 2 explains the six domains viz. physical (land, sea, air), virtual (cyber, space) and cognitive (information/narrative battlespace). The cognitive domain is given added emphasis, rooted in India’s civilisational ethos of “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth Alone Triumphs), positioning narrative dominance as a strategic asset. MDO, however, goes beyond jointness by dictating civil-military fusion (CMF) wherein non-military actors provide ISR via private satellites, AI analytics from start-ups, logistical support from industry, and counter-disinformation through media coordination (Indian Army, 2025).
Let us understand the MDO doctrine and appreciate how it fits into our current doctrine. MDO harvests what the grey zone has cultivated. Joint Operations is the reliable conventional threat that ensures Pakistan’s military deterrence during grey-zone competition and provides the ground and air backbone on which MDOs’ cross-domain effects will be superimposed. The strategic weakness today is that, MDO requires integrated theatre commands, AI-enabled C2, and unified cyber-space kinetic targeting systems that India is yet to fully operationalised. Until those are operational, India would fight using Joint Operations as the primary warfighting model, with grey-zone tools running in parallel and MDO elements layered on as and when they are fielded.
Keywords: Multi-Domain Operations (MDO), Whole-of-Nation Approach, OODA Loop Compression, Strategic Competition, Defence Transformation
