Pune

Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on Sunday said Operation Sindoor showcased the Indian Navy’s “constant readiness paradigm”, with rapid deployment, weapon firings and aggressive manoeuvres after the Pahalgam terror attack that forced Pakistan’s naval fleet to remain close to its harbours.

Delivering the Admiral J G Nadkarni Memorial Lecture in Pune, he said today’s conflicts occur “without notice”, requiring every naval unit at sea to be outfitted for combat. Operation Sindoor, launched in May after the April Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people, was a “classic illustration” of this posture, he added.

Within 96 hours of the attack, the Navy had mounted swift deployments, executed multiple weapon firings and positioned a carrier battle group in the northern Indian Ocean, sending a “clear message of overwhelming force” if required, he said.

Tripathi said the threat landscape has fundamentally changed, with non-state actors now deploying levels of firepower earlier associated only with states. This demands constant combat readiness even during routine missions.

He outlined how the Navy remains active across the Indo-Pacific, safeguarding sea lanes, conducting anti-piracy patrols and responding to maritime emergencies “without discrimination of crew nationality or vessel flag”. Mission-based deployments helped the force log nearly 11,000 ship-days at sea last year, he said.

Tripathi highlighted several recent operations, including INS Visakhapatnam’s firefighting on MV Marlin Luanda carrying highly inflammable cargo, and INS Teg’s rescue of nine crew from the capsized MT Prestige Falcon off Oman. Both missions won commendations from the International Maritime Organisation in consecutive years.

The Navy Chief said technology is reshaping naval warfare at unprecedented speed. The global autonomous naval vessel market, worth USD 1.65 billion in 2024, is growing at 10% annually and may result in 17% of shipping becoming autonomous by 2040. Military AI, valued at USD 9.3 billion this year, is driving “machine-speed warfare” with autonomous targeting and predictive sensing.

He said the battlespace is becoming increasingly transparent due to drones, satellites and AI-enabled analytics, while modern warfare ranges from cheap drones to costly hypersonic weapons—tilting the offence-defence cost balance.

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In this rapidly evolving environment shaped by geopolitics, technology and new-age tactics, the Navy must remain agile and adaptive, he said.