Indo-Pak tensions: Navy says INS Vikramaditya & Nuclear submarines were deployed in Northern Arabian Sea

The Indian navy said that it had deployed its assets including INS Vikramaditya and nuclear submarines in northern Arabian sea in the last week of February amid tension between India and Pakistan following Pulwama terror attack on February 14.

The assets were redeployed from the TROPEX 19 or Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise which is the largest war games of the Indian navy and commenced on January 7.

The Navy in the release said," Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) sponsored terrorist attack on the CRPF convoy in Pulwama on February 14 led to the rapid redeployment of the Indian Navy for Operations in North Arabian Sea."

"The major combat units of the Indian Navy including the Carrier Battle Group with INS Vikramaditya, nuclear submarines and scores of other ships, submarines and aircraft swiftly transited from exercise to operational deployment mode as tensions between India and Pakistan escalated," he added.

JeM is a United Nations listed Pakistan based terror group responsible for the Pulwama attack, the worst attack on Indian security personnel in the last two decades. 

Sixty ships of the Indian Navy, 12 ships of the Indian Coast Guard and 60 aircraft were part of TROPEX 19.

The Navy said, "The overwhelming superiority of the Indian Navy in all three dimensions forced the Pakistan Navy to remain deployed close to the Makran coast and not venture out in the open ocean."

During a joint press conference on February 28 by tri-services, it was informed that Indian Navy remained deployed as necessary to protect National Maritime Interests and prevent any misadventure by Pakistan in the maritime domain.

The tri-services press conference took place a day after Pakistan launched strikes against Indian military installations on February 27 in response to India's counter-terror operation against JeM terror camps in Balakot, Pakistan. 

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba will be in Kochi on March 18 to preside over the debrief of TROPEX 19.