Armed forces mull over creation of three new joint commands

The armed forces are mulling over the creation of three new joint commands for tackling security issues in space, cyberspace and special operations.

The efforts are part of increasing significance being given on jointness among the three Services by the Defence Ministry and to avoid duplication of their resources.

The three Services are discussing the format of the new commands to look after space, cyberspace and special operations, Defence officials said here.

The issue may also come up for discussion at the Combined Commanders' Conference to be addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 19, they said.

The proposal for the creation of an aerospace command has been there for the last few years but it is stuck as the three Services have not agreed over the structure of the new formation and the force which will head it. At present, the three Services have their separate space cells.

The creation of a Special Operations Command has also been recommended by a government-appointed Committee.

The idea behind raising the Special Operations Command is to put the special forces of the three Services under one formation and use them for strategic roles.

The need for a separate command to tackle cyberspace has been felt because of the recent surge in attacks on government and military networks by hacker groups and non-state actors.