The Armed Forces will host the Combined Commanders' Conference (CCC) 2025 in Kolkata, West Bengal, from September 15 to 17, 2025. The event will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, and will also be graced by the Defence Minister, National Security Advisor, Minister of State for Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, and Defence Secretary. The CCC is the apex-level brainstorming forum of the Armed Forces, bringing together the nation's top civil and military leadership to exchange views at the conceptual and strategic levels.

The crucial conference continues, with this year's theme being "Year of Reforms – Transforming for the Future", reflecting the Armed Forces' commitment to long-term capability enhancement and organisational transformation.

This year's theme being "Year of Reforms – Transforming for the Future", reflects the Armed Forces' commitment to long-term capability enhancement and organisational transformation

The Ministry of Defence has already initiated the review of the key areas, especially the long and arduous acquisition process for the Armed Forces.

Senior officials from other key Ministries, along with top commanders from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Integrated Defence Staff, are also expected to participate.

The focus areas for CCC 2025 include Reforms, Transformation & Change, and Operational Preparedness—pillars essential to shaping a technologically advanced and future-ready military.

Driving Reform and Transformation

The Indian Armed Forces are currently undergoing an unprecedented phase of structural and doctrinal reform. CCC 2025 will most likely assess the progress on jointness and theaterisation & defence acquisition reforms.

Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh recently highlighted the urgency of such reforms and said, "Reform at this scale and depth naturally encounters complexities. Some delays are inevitable, but they are being addressed with urgency and accountability. The focus remains on outcomes—on delivering an agile, responsive and future-ready force."

The Ministry is working closely with the Services and industry to streamline procurement, cut red tape, and ensure time-bound execution of critical programmes

He also emphasised that the Ministry is working closely with the Services and industry to streamline procurement, cut red tape, and ensure time-bound execution of critical programmes.

Besides the structural reforms, the key focus will be on the capability development based on self-reliance through indigenisation. These reforms aim to make the Armed Forces more agile, integrated, and responsive to emerging challenges.

Learning from Operation Sindoor

A significant point of discussion at this year's conference will be the lessons learned from Operation Sindoor, the large-scale tri-service and combat-support operation conducted earlier this year. The operation, which demonstrated seamless coordination across land, air, and maritime domains, underscored the importance of rapid mobilisation, inter-service interoperability, and real-time intelligence sharing. It also highlighted the critical need for logistics digitisation, supply chain resilience, and joint command structures in high-tempo environments.

With the global strategic landscape becoming increasingly volatile, CCC 2025 will place renewed emphasis on enhancing the Armed Forces' multi-domain operational readiness

These insights will inform future operational doctrines and drive reforms aimed at improving joint operational execution during both peace and conflict scenarios.

Enhancing Operational Preparedness

With the global strategic landscape becoming increasingly volatile, CCC 2025 will place renewed emphasis on enhancing the Armed Forces' multi-domain operational readiness.

Discussions will cover preparedness across conventional and non-conventional threat spectrums, including cyber warfare, space-based capabilities, AI-enabled decision support systems, and unmanned platforms. Infrastructure development in forward areas and logistics modernisation will also feature prominently.

In keeping with the inclusive nature of the CCC, the conference will feature interactive sessions with personnel from various ranks and commands. These engagements are designed to capture grassroots-level feedback and ensure that perspectives from the field continue to inform top-level strategic thinking.

As the premier military dialogue platform, the Combined Commanders' Conference serves to align the Armed Forces' transformation roadmap with the broader national security objectives. CCC 2025 is expected to inject fresh momentum into ongoing reforms and reaffirm the Armed Forces' resolve to be future-ready, joint, and mission-capable in the face of evolving challenges.

Manish Kumar Jha is a Consulting & Contributing Editor for SP's Aviation, SP's Land Forces and SP's Naval Forces and a security expert. He writes on national security, military technology, strategic affairs & policies.