The advent of Operation Sindoor has indelibly altered the trajectory of India’s military posture, moving it into a new strategic phase characterized by cross-domain assertiveness, integration of advanced technologies, and preemptive operational doctrines. While the operation was perceived on the surface as a potent demonstration of India’s aerial capabilities and intelligence synthesis, the underlying and often underemphasized maritime dimension was a critical pillar ensuring strategic deterrence, multi-theatre readiness, and escalation management. As the Indian Air Force deployed SCALP cruise missiles and HAMMER precision-guided munitions in coordinated strikes across nine high-value targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Indian Navy’s posture, preparedness, and strategic maneuvers served as the silent yet potent guarantor of India’s maritime superiority and crisis-time escalation control.
This article seeks to provide the most in-depth, technically robust, and expansive analysis yet of the Indian Navy’s evolving role in post-Operation Sindoor realities. Through careful breakdowns of the strategic geography, deployed assets, technological capabilities, weapon systems, and doctrinal evolution, this comprehensive treatise serves as a reference-grade exploration of maritime force projection in the Indian context.
Operation Sindoor as a Doctrinal Watershed
Unlike earlier responses to cross-border terrorism such as the 2016 Uri surgical strikes or the 2019 Balakot airstrikes, Operation Sindoor represents a complete doctrinal shift. This operation was not an isolated punitive action but a coordinated, integrated military campaign designed to destroy not just terrorist combatants but the very structural architecture that enables such attacks. The operation targeted ideological indoctrination centers, arms depots, operational logistics hubs, and sleeper-cell training camps with the express intention of strategic denial and long-term degradation.
What made Operation Sindoor significant was not only its geographical reach or tactical precision, but the multi-domain strategic orchestration that underpinned it. While the Indian Air Force and intelligence services were publicly acknowledged for their prominent roles, the Indian Navy’s behind-the-scenes operational stance may provide crucial flexibility, strategic deterrence, and contingency coverage.
Geopolitical Geography: The Indian Ocean Region and Maritime Choke Points
The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) remains one of the most critical maritime theaters in the world, hosting key sea lanes of communication (SLOCs), chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Malacca Strait, and connecting the energy-rich Middle East with emerging Asian markets. Pakistan’s own maritime geography, centered around key naval bases in Karachi, Ormara, and Gwadar, sits vulnerable along this corridor.
Following the initiation of Operation Sindoor, Indian naval planners might have to account not only for direct threats from the Pakistan Navy but also for any asymmetric retaliation that could involve maritime routes, commercial disruption, or cyber-kinetic activity originating from the sea. As such, the Indian Navy’s strategic footprint during this operation would extend from the western seaboard deep into the Arabian Sea, and up toward the Red Sea through ISR-enabled maritime domain awareness campaigns.
The Indian Navy’s Strategic Posturing in a Multi-Domain Environment
The Western Naval Command, headquartered in Mumbai, serves as the most critical maritime front for India in the event of conflict with Pakistan. Prior to the execution of the strikes, operational readiness being raised is not something to doubt and in our expert view, it could be across forward naval stations including INS Kadamba (Karwar), INS Valsura (Jamnagar), and INS Dwarka (Okha). Warships to be deployed to form an overlapping zone of deterrence and interdiction, capable of neutralizing any hostile maneuver, including the deployment of Pakistan’s Babur-class cruise missiles or Agosta-class submarines is something which can be expected.
Even though the operational focus of Operation Sindoor was inland and aerial, the Navy maintained a status of heightened battle-readiness, enabling it to swiftly transition to strike posture had the situation escalated.
Naval Air Dominance and ISR Capabilities
Indian Navy’s P-8I Poseidon aircraft, deployed from INS Rajali (Arakkonam) and INS Hansa (Goa), will play a pivotal role in maritime surveillance. These aircraft, operating under the Fleet Air Arm, can conduct continuous intelligence-gathering missions over the Arabian Sea, monitoring all Pakistani naval traffic from Gwadar to the southern coast of Sindh. Equipped with advanced AN/APY-10 synthetic aperture radar (SAR), high-resolution electro-optical sensors, and Harpoon Block II air-to-surface missiles, the P-8Is can ensure that any unexpected maritime retaliation or troop movement from the Pakistan Navy could be detected and neutralized in real time.
Simultaneously, India’s indigenous maritime UAV capability, including Heron and Searcher Mk II UAVs, can be supplemented by leased MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones from the United States, expanding the persistent surveillance net across the IOR. This level of maritime ISR can provide not only tactical information but also strategic insight into Pakistan’s naval intentions post-strike.
Submarine Operations and Sea Denial Posture
India’s underwater deterrent is led by its nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) fleet, notably the INS Arihant, which remains at the heart of India’s credible minimum deterrence policy. During Operation Sindoor, it is understood that Arihant-class platforms could be placed on patrol to ensure second-strike capability remained operational. Though details remain classified, naval observers point toward a reconfiguration of patrol routes by the Kalvari-class (Scorpene) diesel-electric submarines, many of which were tasked with shadowing Pakistani naval units.
These submarines, armed with Exocet SM.39 Block II missiles, Varunastra heavyweight torpedoes, and advanced sonar suites like the USHUS-2, can create a near-impenetrable underwater net off the Makran Coast, thereby denying Pakistan the element of surprise in the sub-surface domain.
Offensive Maritime Strike Potential: Vessels and Weapon Systems
Though India’s aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, may not engage directly during Operation Sindoor, their strategic placement in the Arabian Sea can provide crucial air dominance buffers. Their onboard MiG-29K fighters could be kept ready for combat air patrols (CAP) and offensive strike missions against strategic installations on the Pakistani coastline, such as the Karachi Naval Dockyard, Jinnah Naval Base at Ormara, and the deep-sea port at Gwadar.
These carrier strike groups could be supported by Delhi-class destroyers, Shivalik-class stealth frigates, and Kamorta-class anti-submarine warfare corvettes, which deployed under multi-layered defensive umbrellas enabled by Barak-8 long-range SAMs, DRDO’s HUMSA-NG sonar, and Indra EW suites. Such formations may allow for maritime coercive posturing even without active engagement, significantly limiting Pakistan’s freedom of action.
BrahMos Supersonic Missile Platform Integration
The BrahMos cruise missile, deployed aboard Visakhapatnam-class destroyers, Rajput-class destroyers, and Talwar-class frigates, could remain on operational standby for precision land-attack missions. Capable of flying at Mach 2.8 and with a range exceeding 450 km, these missiles can strike hardened targets with minimal warning. Their ability to be fired from sea-based vertical launch systems enables saturation strikes with devastating accuracy.
While not officially confirmed, naval experts suggest that BrahMos units could be programmed with coordinates of coastal Pakistani command posts, fuel depots, and radar installations, providing Indian strategic planners with a ready “Plan B” should the aerial operations of Operation Sindoor have escalated into full-spectrum conflict.
Maritime Civilian Protection and Defensive Operations
Post-strike, the risk of asymmetric retaliation along India’s vast coastline may prompt the Navy to collaborate with the Indian Coast Guard, National Command Control, and Disaster Management Authorities. Civilian ports, especially those in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Kerala, could be placed under increased surveillance. Real-time coordination may occur between Coastal Security Group (CSG) units, maritime police forces and naval command centers to thwart any infiltration or sabotage attempts.
Control centers under the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) and the Integrated Coastal Surveillance Network (ICSN) may stream data from over 100 coastal radar stations, fishing boat monitoring systems, and automatic identification system (AIS) feeds to ensure total maritime situational awareness.
Operation Sindoor as a Catalyst for Maritime Strategic Evolution
In the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, one thing has become clear: India’s military doctrine is undergoing rapid, multi-dimensional transformation. The Indian Navy, long seen as a supporting force in continental conflicts, may now emerge as a primary actor in India’s integrated strategic response mechanism. Its ability to posture for deterrence, enforce sea denial, conduct ISR operations, and project power through standoff weapons makes it indispensable to India’s future conflict scenarios.
With indigenous shipbuilding under the INS Vishal aircraft carrier program, advanced underwater assets like the S5-class SSBNs, and the continued deployment of hypersonic BrahMos-II in the next decade, the Indian Navy is set to become not just a regional guarantor but a decisive instrument in strategic national security.