Srinagar: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said Operation Sindoor highlighted the importance of operational preparedness, integrated planning and precision in modern warfare, as he stressed the need to strengthen India’s defence capabilities against evolving security challenges.
Addressing participants of Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026 at Air Force Station Jodhpur, Singh, said future military power would depend on the speed of detecting threats, understanding situations, making decisions and acting.
“Future military power will be defined less by the number of platforms we possess. It will be determined by the speed of sensing, understanding, deciding, and acting,” he said.
The Defence Minister said Operation Sindoor demonstrated the Indian Air Force’s ability to conduct precise, calibrated and effective operations in furtherance of national security objectives. “The operation underlined the importance of credible deterrence and the effective application of air power in a complex security environment,” he said.
Singh said modern warfare was expanding beyond land, sea and air to include space, cyber, the electromagnetic spectrum and the information domain, with drones, artificial intelligence, electronic warfare and long-range precision weapons increasingly shaping military operations.
Stressing self-reliance, Rajnath said India must develop indigenous capabilities to design, manufacture, maintain and upgrade critical defence technologies, while building partnerships with trusted countries. “The defence relationships of the future will be about technology and trust, not just about platforms,” he said.
He highlighted indigenous systems including the Tejas fighter aircraft, Akash air defence system and helicopters such as Dhruv, Rudra and Prachand. He also referred to the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme as an important step towards developing fifth-generation stealth fighter technology.
The Defence Minister said India must be capable of acting independently when required while cooperating effectively with other nations where interests and responsibilities converge.
Describing the spirit of Tarang Shakti, he said, “Different nations. Different aircraft. Different experiences. But one sky. That is the message of Tarang Shakti.”
Singh called upon the Indian Air Force to incorporate lessons from the exercise into its training, tactics, technology, doctrine and future capability development.
