Indian Navy stands poised and prepared – Firstpost

The recent four-day conflict between India and Pakistan was paused due to a ceasefire agreed upon by the two militaries, though termination of ‘Operation Sindoor’ has not been declared by New Delhi yet. Any other claim of brokering a ceasefire is coincidental. After the Indian attack on key military airfields in Pakistan (its prime minister was informed by the army chief in the wee hours of May 10 at 02:30 hrs), the country ran for shelter, which it always does, to the US, which claims that it made requests to call off the conflict for more reasons than what meets the eye.

The Indian government, having met the objectives of this part of the conflict, took at least five hours to decide and called off the firing. Though sporadic ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops were reported in the media, which were proportionately responded to.

There were celebrations on Pakistani streets hailing the Army’s role as saviour. That exactly was the aim of the Pakistan Army hierarchy: to unite the public in order to cover their sagging morale due to the beating they have been receiving at the hands of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

In an article that appeared in the New York Times on May 16, 2025, wherein, Zia-Ur-Rehman, a reporter from Karachi, has written: “The country’s economic situation is also grim, with rising fuel, food and electricity prices increasingly squeezing the poor and the middle class, exacerbating public discontent. And Pakistan’s internal security landscape has deteriorated, as militant groups ramp up attacks in the country’s northeast along the border with Afghanistan, and separatist insurgents (meaning Balochistan) test state control in the southwest.”

He goes on to write, “Having rallied around the flag, Pakistanis were eager to accept the narrative of triumph. For the military, it was a timely opportunity to rehabilitate its image as a trusted pillar in Pakistani life and to deflect attention from accusations of political repression.”

Aqil Shah, a professor of South Asian military and security affairs at Georgetown University, says regarding General Asim Munir, the Pak Army Chief, “He had become a despised figure among young, urban middle-class supporters of Imran Khan as the military cracked down on his party.” General Munir adopted a more visible and assertive role as tensions with India escalated. Now, images of him appear on billboards and posters nationwide, casting him as a “national saviour”.

“The halo of the victory can help the army to reframe its public image as a professional force rather than an unpopular, political one.”

This is not something new. One peep into history will reveal this pattern. General Musharraf gained popularity during the 1999 Kargil conflict, which was triggered by Pakistani forces infiltrating Indian territory. Later, the same year, he staged a coup and came to power.

This time again the military has regained support after the clash, but this could disappear as soon as generals are seen as overreaching in politics unless they stage a coup. The military is under constant threat to its image as it struggles with the country’s internal security challenges. The military’s ability to protect the country has eroded due to persistent waves of bombing and armed assaults. It puts a question mark on the military.

The future of Pakistan remains uncertain on many accounts. The internal security situation is such that it can make its existence as a country doubtful. Robert Blackwill, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former Ambassador of the US to India, was recently asked if India’s economic engagement with Pakistan will help sort out bilateral relations. He said, “I am pessimistic about Pakistan. I think the long-term trends in Pakistan are so worrying; it is hard to see what pulls them out of it… One’s heart goes out to the normal people of Pakistan, who are now trapped in a country where violent extremism expresses itself every single day and kills innocent people like those people at Karachi airport. And so, I think it is a very dangerous place.”

He goes on to say, “The future of Pakistan is by far the most worrisome shorter-term issue in this region. It is hard to be very optimistic about Pakistan. The Pakistanis are trapped in this militarised society of violent jihadism, so I do not know how they will get out of this.”

This reflects the military’s emotional blackmail of the innocent public, often on false narratives. In the present time also, Pakistan has activated its ambassadors and diaspora in virtually every capital. ‘Mulla’ General Munir’s speech to the expats was clearly aimed at preparing them for what he was about to do (Pahalgam).

Having said that, it is necessary for the Pakistani military and people to understand that those four days were just to avenge terrorism, aimed precisely at terrorist camps where the training and housing were being provided. Why did the Army react in response? It has been observed that every time a terror camp is attacked, the Pakistan Army responds. It clearly reflects Pakistan’s complicity with terror groups. It will not be out of place to say that all these terror groups, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen, etc, are hired, indoctrinated labour forces who work for the core terror group in Pakistan called ISI/Pakistan Army.

Therefore, to assume that destroying terror camps will end terrorism is a misnomer. The US and Europe need to understand this. After every terror attack, investigations have revealed the source squarely in Pakistan, and yet they haven’t been called out. In many forms Pakistan continues to be funded, often with US consent. The latest IMF bailout is one such example. Then the smuggled oil from Iran, avoiding sanctions, is yet another important source of earnings to run the terror outfits.

With the launch of Operation Sindoor, the Indian government has presented a new paradigm, a new strategy to fight terrorism, the terror groups and the backer of terror all over the world, ie, ISI/Pakistan Army. Any terror attack on India will be treated as a war with India, and it will be responded to accordingly. The conventional response to a terror attack will be technology-driven, using space, land, air and sea-based weapons in synergy on any target the Armed Forces choose. It will be driven by AI, quantum computing, and sensor shooter chains fully automatic, with both offensive and defensive weapon systems integrated and functioning in the concept of layered defence.

The drones have become an important element of warfare, in that the roles like reconnaissance, electronic support, and electronic countermeasures, armed with loitering and direct hit weapons, are being performed by indigenous drones. A swarm of drones can confuse the radar picture of an adversary; using ECM, it can jam the radars while the strike element of aircraft or armed drones can press home. It is believed that space-based assets were used through the indigenous NAVIC system with higher than GPS accuracy to pinpoint the target and guide the weapons to the intended target.

What has not grabbed the headlines is the maritime power of India that the Indian Navy carries with it. It guards the sea lanes of communication in the entire Indian Ocean and beyond. It is backed by a robust maritime domain awareness network accessible by all deployed ships, submarines and maritime patrol aircraft.

This system provides the identity and location of all vessels traversing through the Indian Ocean, from the Gulf of Aden and the Straits of Hormuz to the Malacca Straits. During OP Sindoor, warships, submarines and maritime patrol aircraft were deployed all along the Makran coast, from Hormuz to south of Keti Bandar. Their presence in close vicinity of all Pakistani harbours and the NAVAREA warning that any vessel traversing through these areas will do so at their own peril virtually prevented ships carrying oil, ammunition and other cargo in and out of Pakistani harbours.

That hits the economy as well as the replenishment of war-fighting materials. If one gets into details, many facets of the maritime combat power of the Indian Navy will emerge. Two aircraft carriers with MiG-29K fighters can open a new theatre of warfare for which Pakistan has very little stomach. While the carrier remains well outside the strike range of the majority of missiles of an adversary, it is supported by very robust layered air defence to shoot down incoming aircraft and missiles.

Nearly all ships and submarines are armed with BrahMos supersonic missiles, which can target nearly all kinds of land-based and vessel targets at sea with pinpoint accuracy. Since the launch is from very dispersed locations at sea, it is often unpredictable while targeting a large number of targets. It can also be integrated with land-based and airborne platforms and launch surface-to-surface and air-to-surface missiles to fire in unison, which brings to bear a concentration of firepower. The ships are capable of tracking Indian satellites, which provide target information online. There are dedicated ships which can engage hypersonic missiles if they are used.

The numbers of vessels are very large, and if ordered, they could bring the war to a devastating end. All major wars in the past indicate that the grand finale of war over land has often been brought to termination by the massive firepower of the naval ships, submarines, aircraft and drones launched from ships. The sustainability of ships can be judged by recalling the time when Houthis began attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea.

This also encouraged Somali pirates to attempt piracy and hijacking of these ships which emerged from Babel e Mandab. For over 100 days, more than 20 warships with 5,000 crew were deployed in the Indian Ocean for escorting merchant ships to safety, often taken to Indian ports for damages caused by missiles fired by Houthis. Indian naval aircraft and UAVs tracked and thwarted hijacking attempts by pirates. Nearly 900 hours of flying were carried out by maritime patrol aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the common good of all seafarers. The ships also have air defence shields for ballistic missiles, which often appear from the outer atmosphere.

With the ability to shift theatre warfare by at least 600 miles a day, it can become nearly impossible for Pakistan to handle. In the 1971 war with Pakistan, Indian naval ships attacked the harbours and ships off East Pakistan and created a blockade which prevented the replenishment of fuel and ammunition to the Pakistan Army, leading to early surrender by 93,000 troops shamefully under the command of Lt Gen AAK Niazi. That is maritime combat power.

Pakistan must be cautious of any wrong conclusions its armed forces may have drawn; remember the potent arm of the Indian Navy was ready to strike should the Indian government so desired, and it still is. Dealing with the 4th/5th strongest navy in the world could be hard for economically embattled Pakistan.

The author is Chairman, Trustee Board of India Foundation. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.