Indian Navy Was On Brink Of Major Missile Offensive Against Pakistani Naval And Land Based Target During Op Sindoor: Report

Indian Navy was reportedly on hot standby to carry out missile strikes deep inside Pakistan on more than one occasion during the Operation Sindoor.

According to a report by NDTV, Indian warships and submarines were assigned specific target packages and had locked onto strategic land and sea targets across the border, including Pakistani Navy vessels docked in Karachi and other installations.

However, the final order to fire never came through.

"The Navy stopped short of launching an attack on identified targets. This included Pakistan Navy ships and submarines in harbour and land-based targets," sources were quoted as saying by NDTV.

Had the attack been authorised, BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and submarine-launched Klub-series land-attack missiles would have been used to strike the targets inside Pakistan, including Pak Navy ships at Karachi harbour.

These missiles are integrated with India’s Russian-built Kilo-class submarines.

Both surface warships and subs were in offensive positions, capable of launching their payloads at a moment’s notice.

Throughout the military standoff, Pakistan’s key naval assets—frigates, corvettes, and submarines—remained confined within harbour limits and did not attempt to venture out.

NDTV reported that several of these Pakistani assets were potentially vulnerable to being destroyed in port had Indian Navy been given the green light to fire.

While the Navy's fleet-based assets did not cross the firing threshold, land-based naval weapons were reportedly used to hit terrorist infrastructure inside Pakistan.

The types of weapon systems deployed in these strikes have not been disclosed.

At the heart of India's maritime dominance was the INS Vikrant-led carrier battle group.

With its fleet of MiG-29K fighter jets, the Indian Navy maintained unchallenged air superiority in the North Arabian Sea and effectively blocked any Pakistani aerial reconnaissance over the ocean.

The presence of the carrier group ensured a tight noose over Pakistani sea lanes.

According to NDTV report, a lone Pakistan Navy ATR-72 Sea Eagle surveillance aircraft that ventured into the area a few day after the India-Pak hostilities ended was intercepted and shadowed closely by a MiG-29K fighter launched from INS Vikrant.

The Indian figher jet positioned itself within a few hundred metres of the Pakistani plane, forcing it to retreat towards the coast.

Operation Sindoor, launched on 6-7 May, was a multi-domain offensive by the Indian Armed Forces targeting at least nine Pakistani terrorist sites through air and missile strikes.

The operation was launched in retaliation for the brutal Pahalgam terror attack of 22 April, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

Also Read: Election Commission Moves To Delist 345 Inactive Registered Unrecognized Political Parties In First Phase Of Cleanup Drive