New Delhi: The Indian Navy’s aggressive posture during ‘Operation Sindoor’ forced the Pakistan Navy to remain confined to its ports and dented Islamabad’s maritime economy by driving up shipping risks and insurance premiums, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi said Saturday.
In an interview, Admiral Tripathi said the Navy maintained an “unprecedented operational tempo” across in strategic waters, clocking nearly 11,000 ship days and over 50,000 flying hours in 2025 alone.
Admiral Tripathi, delving into Operation Sindoor, said it demonstrated the Navy’s absolute combat readiness, operational reach, and deterrence capabilities.
He said the Navy’s immediate deployment of a Carrier Battle Group and its forward operational posture in the Northern Arabian Sea forced the Pakistan Navy to remain confined to harbour or close to the Makran coast.
“This aggressive posturing reaffirmed our ability to rapidly position combat power and successfully shape the strategic environment, while simultaneously impacting their (Pakistan’s) maritime economy due to increased shipping risks and elevated insurance premiums,” he said.
“Equally important was the tri-service synergy demonstrated during the operation, which validated the growing importance of joint operational capability.”
Following the Pahalgam terror attack, the Navy swiftly deployed its frontline assets including submarines, warships and almost all its aviation with full combat readiness that maintained constant pressure on Pakistan.
“In an increasingly interconnected and contested maritime environment, the Indian Navy maintained an unprecedented operational tempo across our areas of interest – clocking nearly 11,000 ship days and over 50,000 flying hours in 2025 alone,” he said.
“Foremost among these achievements was Operation Sindoor, which demonstrated our absolute combat readiness, operational reach, and deterrence potential.”
“The immediate deployment of a Carrier Battle Group and our forward operational posture in the Northern Arabian Sea forced the Pakistan Navy to remain confined to harbour or close to the Makran coast,” he said.
The Navy Chief’s response came when asked about his force’s readiness and contribution to national security during his tenure.
Admiral Tripathi said capability enhancement and force modernisation have remained his core priorities because the maritime domain is becoming increasingly contested and technologically complex.
“Our focus is squarely on building credible deterrence by modernising our fleet with capable multi-dimensional platforms. Since 2025, we have inducted two submarines — one of which was commissioned in the presence of the prime minister — and 18 warships, including destroyers, frigates, and anti-submarine warfare vessels,” he said.
Highlighting the Navy’s increasing combat capabilities, Admiral Tripathi mentioned multi-domain exercises carried out by his force including TROPEX and AIKEYME exercises.
“Our biennial capstone exercise, TROPEX-2025, successfully integrated conventional maritime operations with a cyber and information warfare exercise under realistic conditions,” he said.
“Operating across an expanded theatre extending approximately 4,300 nautical miles from North to South and 5,000 nautical miles from the Strait of Hormuz to the Sunda and Lombok Straits, it witnessed the participation of more than 65 Indian Naval ships, 10 submarines, and over 80 aircraft, achieving a very high level of operational synergy with extensive participation from the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and Indian Coast Guard,” he said.
“To further accelerate this integration, the Navy led the tri-services Exercise Trishul off the coast of Gujarat in November, practising joint effects-based operations on land and at sea,” he said.
The Navy Chief also noted his force’s efforts to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of MAHASAGAR or ‘Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions’.
“Over the past two years, we conducted or participated in 23 bilateral, 16 multilateral, and 70 maritime partnership exercises,” he said.
“Finally, our sustained presence was proven through critical Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) missions, including Operation Brahma in Myanmar following an earthquake, and Operation Sagar Bandhu in Sri Lanka post-Cyclone Ditwa,” he said.
Concurrently, in coordination with other national agencies, anti-narcotics operations resulted in the seizure of contraband worth Rs 43,300 crore, severely degrading illicit transnational networks in our region, he said in the email interview.
“Overall, these achievements reflect a Navy that is not only operationally ready on a daily basis, but one that is also capable of generating deterrence, delivering integrated effects, and safeguarding India’s maritime interests anytime, anywhere, and anyhow,” he added.
