The launch of anti-ship missiles follows a terrorist attack that left 26 people dead in Kashmir
India’s navy has conducted a live-fire exercise in the Arabian Sea amid tensions with neighboring Pakistan, which have worsened since a terrorist attack in the New Delhi-administered Kashmir region on Tuesday that left 26 dead.
The Indian Navy shared a video and photos of the anti-ship missile launches in a post on X on Sunday, writing that it “stands Combat Ready, Credible and Future Ready in safeguarding the nation’s maritime interests.”
According to India’s NDTV, the drills featured several destroyers and frigates which fired BrahMos anti-ship and anti-surface cruise missiles.
On Thursday, the Indian Navy posted a short video of the moment its “latest indigenous guided missile destroyer INS Surat” successfully engaged a sea-skimming target.
#IndianNavy‘s latest indigenous guided missile destroyer #INSSurat successfully carried out a precision cooperative engagement of a sea skimming target marking another milestone in strengthening our defence capabilities.
The Financial Express reported that “one of the largest and most advanced destroyers in the world,” made mostly of domestic components, deployed a medium range surface-to-air missile (MR-SAM) system in the Arabian Sea during the exercise.
Relations between New Delhi and Islamabad worsened on Tuesday, when several gunmen killed 25 Indian tourists and one Nepalese national in Baisaran Valley, a popular destination in the Kashmir region.
India was quick to accuse its neighbor of aiding militant infiltrations in Kashmir – an allegation Pakistan strongly denies.
The Resistance Front, a militant group allegedly linked to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has reportedly claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s terrorist attack, with Indian police saying that two of the suspects are Pakistani nationals.
On Wednesday, New Delhi downgraded diplomatic ties, expelled Pakistani diplomats and closed the land border with India’s neighbor. It also suspended the key water-sharing Indus Waters Treaty. Islamabad responded in kind to its neighbor’s measures, suspending India-bound shipments from third countries through Pakistan and closing its airspace to all Indian-owned or operated airlines.
Pakistan has strongly denied having any role in the deadly incident, while repeating accusations that New Delhi oppresses the majority-Muslim population of Kashmir.
Islamabad also warned that should New Delhi block rivers, Pakistan would see the move as an “act of war.”
According to NDTV, Indian and Pakistani troops have for a third night exchanged fire across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, the de facto boundary between the two nuclear powers. New Delhi’s security forces are also reportedly conducting anti-terrorist raids in the union territory.
Speaking to Sky News earlier this week, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned that the confrontation with India could escalate into an “all-out war” with a potentially “tragic outcome,” given that both nations are nuclear powers.
