The exchange of notes between senior officers of the three services from the Eastern Command with their counterparts in the respective service headquarters in Delhi increased by several notches over the past few days, and remained so on Wednesday, sources said.

Senior officers, who did not want to be identified, said South Block had been communicating with the operational commands to understand the availability of personnel and weapons in case of a need to scale up presence along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.

Different squadrons across all airbases and forward airbases under the Eastern Air Command (EAC) — spanning east and northeastern India — have been asked to be alert in case fighter pilots and jets are required as reinforcements.

The Kalikunda air force station in West Midnapore is one of the oldest airfields under the EAC, and the Falcons fighter aircraft squadron in Hashimara air force station in Alipurduar is equipped with the Dassault Rafale.

“Across all the commands, the thrust now is on fixing strategy jointly with inputs from officers of the three services on the ground and at the top. The respective service headquarters would have to be informed of what is being discussed jointly at the commands,” a senior officer of the EAC said.

“Communication at all levels must be clear for better understanding, and hence the exchange of notes.”

Senior officers said coordination with officers was the most during India’s military stand-off with China along the LAC at Galwan in Ladakh in 2020, when aircraft were used to reinforce the presence of military tanks along the Chinese border.

Post Operation Sindoor, if a similar mobilisation is needed, the serviceability of aircraft would be scaled up, which would mean more pilots being called for duty.

A section of senior officers said the need to have joint discussions with other services and increased field-level coordination became the buzzword since former chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat proposed synergy among the forces, jointness of operations and better utilisation of resources.

“The army, navy and the air force, for instance, use helicopters. Coordination at the ground level with inputs from representatives of the three services would ensure the best outcome during any operation,” the officer said.

Since the EAC’s area of responsibility includes covering the India-China border in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, sources said South Block has always been cautious about this sector. Senior officers, who were with the EAC in the past, said any move to shift resources from this command as a part of war preparedness is weighed with extreme caution.