New Delhi

The Indian government is moving in the direction of creating three new theatre commands. At the same time, the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) is considering further expanding and upgrading its cyber and space warfare capabilities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the creation of two agencies, including the Defense Cyber Agency, five years ago to deal with threats from these domains as well as build India’s offensive capabilities in the region. These agencies are headed by officers of the rank of Major General of the Army.

Government sources said, with the growing use of the cyber domain in warfare, the DMA is looking at the possibility of further expanding the cyber agency and having more strength to meet the challenges. He said that the increasing use of cyber domain can be seen in the Ukraine war and we also have our own experiences.

He further said that in the recent past, several space launches and other deployments have been reported about our adversaries in that domain. We will also need to strengthen our capabilities in the space domain to help theatre commanders assess and respond to threats.

He informed that several cyber attacks against its military IT infrastructure as well as its personnel have been foiled by the Defense Cyber Agency. Sources said the civilian agencies created along with the defence, cyber and space agencies have also made huge strides in their capabilities in the last few years.

Sources, however, said with increasing global activities and rapid weaponization of these domains, there is a need to expand and upgrade the agencies’ capabilities. The forces are looking at having permanent or long-term cyber and space experts in these agencies who can help them by using their expertise for a longer period.