New Army chief expected to continue multi-domain capability drive

Lieutenant General Seth will assume office on the afternoon of June 30, 2026, when the incumbent, General Upendra Dwivedi, retires from service

Chief of the Army Staff-designate Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth, set to take charge on June 30, is expected to maintain the momentum behind the Army's capability development and modernisation efforts, having played a role in formulating the force's long-term roadmap for both.

 

The Centre on Saturday named Lieutenant General Seth, the current Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS), as the next Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). He will assume office on the afternoon of June 30, 2026, when the incumbent, General Upendra Dwivedi, retires from service. Lieutenant General Seth has served as VCOAS since April 1, 2026.

 

Lieutenant General Seth's appointment as COAS comes just over a year after Operation Sindoor, the May 7-10 conflict with Pakistan that witnessed the Army employ guided artillery and unmanned systems, aided by artificial intelligence (AI) tools, against both terrorist infrastructure and regular Pakistani military targets. The conflict also brought large-scale kinetic non-contact warfare — centred on the use of missiles, drones and long-range precision weapons to engage targets from a distance — and cognitive warfare — the use of information and influence to shape, disrupt or degrade an adversary's decision-making — to the subcontinent.

 

Lieutenant General Dushyant Singh (Retd), director-general of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, identified accelerating the country's defence transformation as a key objective for Lieutenant General Seth as COAS.

 

"As the Indian Army enters a decisive phase of its modernisation journey, Lieutenant General Seth takes over from General Dwivedi, who has set an impressive pace in driving far-reaching reforms. A key architect of this ongoing transformation, Lieutenant General Seth brings proven leadership to steer the Army towards a future defined by seamless jointness, Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in equipment and capabilities, and innovation," he said.

 

Announcing his appointment, an official release said Lieutenant General Seth's nearly four-decade career has spanned the "operational, strategic, capability development and institutional domains", and that he has contributed "significantly" to enhancing the Army's combat effectiveness and furthering its long-term transformation.

 

Lieutenant General Seth's involvement in the Army's capability development and modernisation efforts is evident from the key appointments he has held in the Strategic Planning and Capability Development Directorates, including Colonel Capability Development for Mechanised Forces, Brigadier Perspective Plans and Acquisition, and Additional Director General Capability Development. He has also played a role in shaping the Army's Long-Term Perspective Plan (LTPP) and modernisation roadmap.

 

The service-specific LTPPs are integrated into the Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan, which spans 15 years and is divided into three five-year Services Capital Acquisition Plans, also known as Defence Plans. These set out the equipment to be acquired by the Services to meet their operational requirements, taking into account resource availability. The Defence Plans are further broken down into two-year roll-on Annual Acquisition Plans.

 

Lieutenant General Singh (Retd) said Lieutenant General Seth's vision centres on building a world-class, battle-ready force capable of dominating the multi-domain battlespace.

 

"At the core of his agenda is human resource preparedness — ensuring our officers and soldiers are equipped, trained and empowered to tackle both current and emerging defence and security challenges with agility and resilience."

 

Multi-domain operations involve the integrated employment of capabilities across the land, air, maritime, cyber, space, electromagnetic, information and cognitive domains to achieve military objectives.

 

Lieutenant General Seth's appointment as COAS comes months after the government approved the Army's long-pending proposal to raise integrated battle groups (IBGs), one of more than three dozen organisational reforms cleared over the 15 months leading up to January 2026. The approvals come amid a series of organisational changes undertaken by the Army over the past year, including the raising of new frontline formations such as the Rudra all-arms brigades, Bhairav light commando battalions and Shaktibaan artillery regiments. A dedicated rocket and missile force has also been identified as a critical requirement, although its raising is yet to be announced.

 

IBGs are proposed Army formations comprising infantry, armour, artillery, air defence, signals, engineers and other supporting units configured as an integrated combined-arms force.

 

During General Dwivedi's tenure as COAS, the adoption of AI and drone technologies emerged as major focus areas. This was reflected in the introduction of India's first sovereign agentic AI, ongoing efforts to develop a sovereign large language model for military applications, and the creation of in-house capabilities to build substantial numbers of drones within the Army. After designating 2024 and 2025 as the Years of Technology Absorption, the Army has declared 2026 and 2027 as the Years of Networking and Data Centricity.

 

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, and commissioned into the Armoured Corps in December 1986, Lieutenant General Seth's career has spanned diverse terrain and conflict environments, from the desert to counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir. It has also included service with the United Nations Mission in Angola and oversight of other international engagements. He has previously served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the South Western Command and Southern Command, gaining the rare distinction of commanding two operational commands along the western front.