New Delhi: Indian Navy’s carrier battle group, submarines and aviation assets were immediately deployed at sea with full combat readiness in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, a top Navy official said on Sunday.
The naval forces remained forward deployed in the northern Arabian sea in a “dissuasive and deterrent” posture, with full readiness to strike select targets at sea, and on land, including Karachi, at a time of our choosing, Director General of Naval Operations, Vice Admiral A N Pramod, said.
The Vice Admiral was addressing a press conference along with his counterparts from the Army and the Indian Air Force on India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’.
The Director General of Naval Operations (DGNO) said the Navy tested and refined tactics and procedures at sea during multiple weapon firings in the Arabian Sea, within 96 hours of the terrorist attack.
“The aim was to revalidate our crew, armament, equipment and platform readiness to deliver various ordnance on selected targets precisely,” he added.
The DGNO said the carrier battle group was deployed in the Arabian Sea following the terror attack that killed 26 civilians on April 22.
A carrier battle group is a naval fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier and its accompanying ships.
Vice Admiral Pramod said the forward deployment of the Indian Navy compelled Pakistani naval and air units to be in a defensive posture, mostly inside harbours or very close to their coast.
“The Indian Navy maintained seamless maritime domain awareness throughout the duration and was entirely aware of the location and movement of Pakistani units,” he said.
“In effect, we had, and continue to have, good battlespace transparency, using our maritime domain awareness grid,” he said.
“Under India’s calibrated approach, we considered all options, including the ability of the Indian Navy for offensive action from and at sea,” the DGNO said.
“As part of the escalation control mechanism, the application of force by the Navy was planned in a synchronised manner in concert with the Army and the Air Force, the highlight being teams from the three services working closely in an integrated manner,” he added.
“Along with kinetic actions by the Indian Army and Indian Air Force, the overwhelming operational edge of the Indian Navy at sea contributed towards Pakistan’s urgent request for a ceasefire yesterday,” Vice Admiral Pramod said.
The India Navy remains deployed at sea in a credible deterrent posture to respond decisively to any inimical action by Pakistan, or Pakistan-based terrorists, he added.
India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure early on May 7 following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10.
The Pakistani actions were strongly responded to by the Indian side by inflicting heavy damages to a number of key Pakistani military installations, including air bases, air defence systems, command and control centres and radar sites.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Saturday evening announced that India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect.
