Air Defence Command (India)

Air Defence Command was a proposed unified tri-services command of the Indian Armed Forces. The command would be headed by a three-star Indian Air Force officer.

History
After Bipin Rawat took office as the first Chief of Defence Staff in January 2020, he proposed the creation of an integrated military command that would coordinate air defence operations of the Indian military. Discussions were held in the Indian military establishment over this and it was decided that a proposal to create such command would be prepared by 30 June 2020. Work on creating the Air Defence Command was subsequently scheduled to start in 2021.

In June 2023, reports confirmed that the proposed Air Defence Command would not be established as the Indian Air Force stated a different command for air defence would be "counter-productive" because "air defence" and "offensive air" operations are inter-dependent. The air force also cited "that dividing limited air assets into separate commands would be unwise."

Organisation
It was reported that a three-star officer from the Indian Air Force would head the proposed Air Defence Command. This command would have been responsible for air defence operations of the Indian military. It would have integrated all the relevant assets of three branches of the Indian Armed Forces under a single command authority.