basic doctrine of the indian air force OPERATIONAL ART Operational strategy employs the forces earmarked for the military/ air campaigns. It can be defined as the art and science of planning, orchestrating and directing military/air campaigns within a theatre to achieve national security objectives. A campaign consists of a series of related major operations, each of which may involve a number of battles, which together seek to achieve a particular objective. Within a campaign the capabilities of various forces must be combined to achieve synergy and on a broader scale, separate campaigns must be combined harmoniously to achieve war objectives. Whilst the air strategy is developed at the Air HQ, the operational art for employing air power is evolved at IAF Command HQs. For successful execution of operational art a commander must have:  An awareness of the national security environment and the political aims  A clear grasp of the military aim and the strategy  Technological awareness  An understanding of civil military affairs and media management. TACTICS Tactics are the art and science of employing forces at the battlefield. The difference between tactics and higher levels of strategy is that tactics are employed on the battlefield while operational strategy brings the forces to the battlefield. Modern wars necessitate that tactics must keep pace with advancements in technology and weapons. Failure to do so could prove to be devastating, especially for the air forces. Tactics should be designed to exploit the capabilities of equipment and weapon systems to enhance effectiveness and reduce vulnerabilities. However, in some circumstances, equipment may need to be adapted to fulfil tactical requirements. Innovative and unpredictable tactics will always produce positive results. 34