Bengaluru, India: As Session 1 of ‘Ran Samwad 2026’ progressed, Vice Admiral Sameer Saxena, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command, delivered a compelling presentation on the critical role of national cohesion in future multi-domain warfare, highlighting that military hardware alone will not guarantee victory.
While speaking on ‘Evolution of MDO and Global Trends’, Saxena emphasised that success in modern conflicts demands far more than superior weapons systems. “Winning future wars will not depend on weapons alone, but on the seamless alignment between the government, the military, and the people.”
He identified the ‘cognitive domain’ as the decisive battleground of contemporary conflict, a realm where perceptions, narratives, legitimacy, and public will are contested fiercely, often unfolding on digital screens and information networks long before kinetic operations begin. In an era of hybrid threats and constant information warfare, control over this domain can shape outcomes more profoundly than traditional firepower, he noted.
Vice Admiral Saxena outlined several key requirements for India to effectively operationalise Multi-Domain Operations (MDO). These include building robust cognitive warfare architecture, developing highly interoperable all-domain command-and-control systems, accelerating defence innovation cycles, and creating industrial surge capacity capable of supporting sustained operations. Central to all these efforts, he argued, is the adoption of a genuine Whole-of-Nation approach that integrates civil, military, industrial, and societal capabilities.
His address reinforced the seminar’s overarching theme, Multi Domain Operations: An Imperative for Addressing Conventional and Irregular Threats, and complemented earlier presentations in the same session. While Air Marshal Tejinder Singh described MDO as “the new normal” and Lt Gen Devendra Sharma called for re-imagining operational art, Vice Admiral Saxena broadened the discussion to the societal and national foundations required for multi-domain success.
As head of Southern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Saxena brings deep operational and training expertise to the conversation, particularly in maritime domain awareness, joint operations, and theatre-level integration. His perspective underscored the Indian Navy’s growing emphasis on cross-domain synergy and whole-of-government coordination in the Indian Ocean Region.
‘Ran Samwad 2026’, hosted by the Indian Air Force at the Air Force Technical College under the aegis of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), continues to serve as a high-calibre practitioner-driven platform for strategic dialogue. The second edition of the seminar has brought together senior tri-service leadership, academics, think tanks, industry experts, and foreign delegates to examine the evolving character of war.
With one more day of sessions remaining, participants are expected to explore training reforms, technological enablers, and doctrinal adaptations necessary for India to thrive in a multi-domain environment. Proceedings are being live-streamed for wider professional and strategic audiences.
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contact: drrajeshjauhri@gmail.com
Dr Rajesh Jauhri is a Journalist with an experience of over 25 years in Indian and foreign media, a Social Scientist, an Ac-complished Author, a Political & Strategic Analyst, a Marksman (Rifle & Pistol), an Orator, a Thinker and an Educationist. He holds a Ph.D. degree on “Impact of colonial heritage on Indian police”. He runs an NGO dedicated to the social and eco-nomic uplift of tribal communities in MP and two decades back, he established a school in a village of Indore district, providing education and moral values to children belonging to underprivileged and minority families. Has received multiple awards in various fields.
