India's aircraft carrier with MiG 29K fighters kept Pak Navy hundreds of kilometers away

New Delhi: Addressing the press conference on Operation Sindoor, Vice Admiral AN Pramod said that the presence of the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier with a large number of MiG 29K fighters and airborne early warning helicopters prevented any suspicious or hostile aircraft, indirectly referring to Pakistan's assets, to close the carrier battle group within several hundred kilometres. 

The Indian Navy operates as a composite networked force capable of simultaneously addressing threats emanating from all domains, that is, air, surface and sub-surface, through amalgamation of advanced sensors, synchronised on the Combat Management Systems", the Vice Admiral added. 

He underscored that the maritime force is able to ensure persistent surveillance, detection and identification for a comprehensive maritime domain awareness, including the airspace.

Vice Admiral AN Pramod further said, "Effectively using multiple sensors and inputs, we are maintaining continuous surveillance to degrade or neutralise threats as they emerge or manifest, to ensure targeting at extended ranges. All these are conducted under the umbrella of a comprehensive and effective layered Fleet Air Defence mechanism that caters for all threats, be it drones or high-speed missiles or aircraft, both fighters as well as surveillance aircraft." 

Vice Admiral Pramod said that the Indian Navy was at an advantage during Operation Sindoor, and the presence of the carrier battle group ensured that the adversary did not get any chance to come close.

He emphasised that the Indian Navy's presence compelled the Pakistani air operations to remain bottled up, "denying any opportunity to be a threat in the maritime space".

In his remarks, Director General Air Operations Air Marshal AK Bharti detailed the success of the Indian Armed Forces' Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, targeting nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK).

The operation, a response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, was executed with precision to minimise damage to civilian and military infrastructure despite intervention by the Pakistani military.