The new land warfare doctrine is due to be released on Friday, October 23, the closing day of the Army Commanders’ Conference, which began in New Delhi on Wednesday. The three-day meeting brings together the Army’s senior leadership to review the security environment, operational preparedness, capability development and plans for transforming the force. The defence ministry says the doctrine will provide an overarching framework for meeting the challenges of evolving warfare and future conflicts. Its detailed provisions have not been publicly outlined in advance of the release.
The conference is chaired by Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth. Alongside the doctrine, its agenda includes presentations on contemporary security issues by Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani, Navy Chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan and Electronics and Information Technology Secretary S Krishnan. Army leaders are also expected to take stock of ongoing initiatives and identify priorities for a technologically enabled and adaptable force.
The new document will replace the Army’s 2018 Land Warfare Doctrine, the first update to the service’s land-warfare framework since earlier editions in 1998 and 2004. The 2018 doctrine set out broad principles for force application and capability development. Analysts have described military doctrine as guidance for planning and using military resources-not a fixed set of operational instructions. The new version’s importance will therefore depend on how its principles shape training, organisation, equipment priorities and coordination with other services.
The update comes as militaries adapt to battlefields increasingly shaped by unmanned aircraft, loitering munitions, precision weapons and persistent surveillance. Recent conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war and fighting in West Asia, have intensified attention to the ways drones and other technologies can affect battlefield visibility, targeting and force protection. The Indian Army is also considering the implications of these changes for operations along its borders with China and Pakistan, where terrain and security requirements differ considerably.
Operation Sindoor, the India-Pakistan conflict of May 2025, forms part of the recent operational context. Analyses of the episode have highlighted the value of persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, connected platforms and integrated air-defence networks, while pointing to continuing demands for stronger counter-drone capability and resilient communications.
Those lessons underline the challenge of translating technological change into doctrine, personnel training and systems that can function under pressure. The new document is expected to provide an institutional framework for addressing that challenge, though its specific response to these lessons will only be clear after publication.
The broader shift is towards planning across domains rather than treating land operations in isolation. Cyber, space and electronic warfare can shape communications, intelligence and the movement of forces, while air and naval capabilities may directly affect what ground units can achieve.
A doctrine that addresses these interactions could help align Army planning with wider military capabilities. The conference’s participation by senior leaders from the other services and the technology ministry reflects the range of issues under discussion, but does not by itself establish what changes the doctrine will prescribe.
The Army Commanders’ Conference is also a forum for reviewing operational readiness, modernisation and transformation initiatives. During the meeting, the defence minister is scheduled to unveil the annual United Nations Journal and recognise Army personnel for service in UN peacekeeping missions.
General Seth is also set to present awards for Green Military Stations and Aviation Flight Safety, recognising environmental sustainability, resource management and aviation safety.
The doctrine’s release will mark a policy milestone, but implementation will be the practical test: whether its framework informs force development, joint planning and preparedness for conflicts that may combine conventional fighting with emerging technologies.
The Army has described the document as a response to the changing character of warfare; its contents will show how that ambition is translated into guidance for the force.
