NEW DELHI: India must look for overseas logistics bases or seal more reciprocal military logistics pacts like the one with the US, said chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat on Monday, even as he declared that the country’s proposed joint Air Defence Command (ADC) would be in place in a year and will be followed by the southern Peninsular Command by end-2021.

As far as the borders with Pakistan and China are concerned, the first theatre command – with the assets and manpower of the Army, Navy and IAF under one operational commander – will roll out by 2022, said Gen Rawat , while talking to a group of journalists here.

TOI on February 4 had reported that the proposed plan is to establish one or two commands (a northern one west of Nepal and an eastern one east of Nepal) to handle China, two commands on the western front with Pakistan (one in J&K and the other to include Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan) and a southern command for peninsular India.

This setting-up of “geographical” theatre commands along with “functional” tri-Service commands for air defence, logistics and training, will be the biggest-ever military restructuring exercise in India’s history. The ADC, which will integrate the disparate air defence weapons and radars of the three Services, will be headed by an Air Marshal of the IAF.

Gen Rawat, who is also tasked with cutting costs and right-sizing manpower in the backdrop of the ballooning pay and pension bills of the almost 15-lakh strong armed forces, also indicated the Navy is unlikely to get the approval for a third aircraft carrier any time soon. “Submarines are a critical priority,” he said, adding that aircraft carriers “are very expensive”.

Similarly, the IAF proposal to acquire 114 fighter jets -- under a “strategic partnership” project for over $20 billion (Rs 1.4 lakh crore) in a joint venture between a selected foreign aviation major and its Indian partner – could be in the doldrums.

A new approach of staggered acquisitions or buying weapons in tranches is in the works, said Gen Rawat. If the Navy says it requires 10 submarines, the IAF 114 aircraft and the Army 1,000 tanks, only one service will benefit if we go for such large numbers in one go. But if procurements are prioritised, then all the Services can procure limited number of weapons at regular intervals thereby maintaining operational readiness, he added.

