Operation Sindoor: Indian Navy says forward posture hit Pakistan maritime trade

Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi has said that the Indian Navy's aggressive posture during Operation Sindoor confined the Pakistan Navy to its harbours and damaged Pakistan's maritime economy by pushing up shipping risks and insurance costs. He shared the assessment in an interview to news agency PTI.

Operation Sindoor was launched after the Pahalgam terror attack. India swiftly deployed submarines, warships and almost its entire naval aviation in full combat readiness. A Carrier Battle Group was moved to the Northern Arabian Sea, taking up a forward operational posture that forced the Pakistan Navy to stay near its Makran coast or inside its ports.

According to the Navy Chief, the force clocked an unprecedented operational tempo in 2025 — about 11,000 ship days and over 50,000 flying hours across its areas of interest. He said the operation demonstrated combat readiness, operational reach and credible deterrence, while also validating tri-service synergy between the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.

The Navy has also expanded its fleet. Since 2025 it has inducted two submarines (one commissioned in the presence of the Prime Minister) and 18 warships including destroyers, frigates and anti-submarine warfare vessels. Multi-domain exercises included TROPEX-2025 — a biennial capstone exercise that integrated maritime, cyber and information warfare operations over a vast theatre of about 4,300 nautical miles north-south and 5,000 nautical miles between the Strait of Hormuz and the Sunda and Lombok Straits.

In November, the Navy led the tri-services Exercise Trishul off the Gujarat coast. The Navy is also implementing the Prime Minister's MAHASAGAR vision — Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions — through 23 bilateral, 16 multilateral and 70 maritime partnership exercises in two years. Humanitarian missions included Operation Brahma in Myanmar after an earthquake and Operation Sagar Bandhu in Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwa.

Anti-narcotics operations, in coordination with other agencies, resulted in seizure of contraband worth about Rs 43,300 crore. Combined, these efforts show a Navy aimed at deterrence, integrated combat effects and securing India's wider maritime interests in the Indian Ocean Region.

For exam aspirants, this update is useful for questions on India's defence posture, joint operations, the role of Carrier Battle Groups, the Strait of Hormuz, Sunda and Lombok Straits, and India's outreach in the Indian Ocean through MAHASAGAR (the updated form of the earlier SAGAR doctrine).