The Armed Forces in the country want to turn Mumbai into the first tri-service common defense station for the Indian Air Force (IAF) Army and Navy. This is a phase that is taken to accomplish jointness between the three services ahead of the formation of combined theatre commands.
Officials say that discussions regarding this effect are taking place in the top military hierarchy and a decision is likely to be taken soon.
Presently in India, there are no common defense stations. In 2001 The Andaman and Nicobar Command is a complete command raised as a tri-service command. Other efforts to bring in jointness among the services such as inter-service postings were brought in last year.
A common defense station would mean that all facilities of the Army, Navy, and IAF would be joint including logistics, infrastructure, repair and maintenance as well as stores and supplies— so that they could be optimized and brought under a common lead service. In the case of Mumbai, the Navy will be given the main service since it has the largest presence there.
At present, the wings of the three services are spread across Mumbai and its suburbs and operate separately. Under the plan, logistics, infrastructure, and administration will be brought under a common chain.
For instance, the Navy’s INS Karanja and INS Hamla, are responsible for imparting logistics training to Naval personnel and housing a major armament depot respectively. The Army’s artillery depot, a distinct training area, an air defense squadron, and IAF units are planned to be combined for mutual usage by the three services.
An official said this will mean the services, logistics and works of the individual services will be combined so that there will be only one system of delivery of supplies such as fuel and ration, and in one place common items can be repaired.
The officials said that, as per plans, the resources of the individual services will be shared by all and this would include infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, and sports complexes; training facilities; as well as storage, repair, and maintenance facilities and works. A second official said that this will lead to better optimization and management of resources and avoid duplication of efforts since the idea is to have a single channel for funds and delivery and avoid redundancy.
Officials said that with Mumbai being the first common defense station being planned, Sulur (near Coimbatore) and Guwahati are most likely to be chosen as locations for the second and third common defense stations. While the lead facility for Sulur is expected to be IAF, the Army will possibly be the principal service for the Guwahati station.
