This report is a follow-up to an earlier study, “Beyond the Kinetic,” by the same authors, which introduced the Socio-Technical-Cognitive Battlespace as a way of understanding modern conflict.

It responds to a specific moment in Indian defense policy. In August 2025, India released its Joint Doctrine for Multi-Domain Operations, a significant step toward integrated warfighting. This report examines what that doctrine assumes and what it leaves unaddressed. Its central claim is that Multi-Domain Operations is an operational layer that functions inside a wider strategic environment, and that India cannot build credible multidomain capability on foundations it does not own. The title captures that warning: a force operating on others’ infrastructure is fighting on borrowed ground.

The report combines doctrinal analysis with recent case studies drawn from conflicts in Iran, Ukraine, Gaza, and Venezuela, as well as from China’s long-term infrastructure strategy. It concludes with concrete recommendations for Indian doctrine, force design, industrial policy, and military education, followed by an annex addressing five objections to its framework. It is written for military planners, policymakers, and analysts concerned with Indian defense doctrine and national strategy.