Strike
ISLAMABAD: In the blistering heat of the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict,a shadow loomed large over the Arabian Sea, where India’s prized aircraftcarrier INS Vikrant cowered far from the fray, tethered to the safety ofterritorial waters by the unyielding reach of Pakistan’s air and navalarsenal. The four-day skirmish, ignited by Indian missile strikes on May 7following a terrorist outrage in Kashmir, escalated into a multidomainshowdown of drones, airstrikes, and cyber salvos. Yet, amid the thunder ofaerial dogfights and precision bombardments, it was the Pakistan AirForce’s (PAF) deployment of advanced anti-ship missiles that cast thelongest pall over Indian naval pretensions, forcing the Vikrant—a symbol ofDelhi’s maritime might—into an ignominious retreat.
The conflict’s naval theater unfolded with calculated restraint onIslamabad’s part, a masterstroke of deterrence rather than outrightconfrontation. As India’s Western Fleet, spearheaded by the 40,000-tonneINS Vikrant, maneuvered toward the northern Arabian Sea on May 9,positioning within striking distance of Karachi, Pakistan’s vital port hub,the carrier’s air wing of aging MiG-29s found itself outmatched before asingle sortie could launch. PAF JF-17 Thunder fighters, the workhorses ofthe aerial campaign, were armed with the Chinese-origin CM-400AKGsupersonic anti-ship cruise missile, boasting a formidable range of 400kilometers. This hypersonic beast, capable of Mach 5 speeds in its terminalphase, locked onto maritime targets with infrared imaging and active radarhoming, rendering evasive maneuvers futile for even the most agile carriers.
Military analysts, poring over declassified satellite imagery andintercepted communications, later confirmed that the Vikrant’s commanders,acutely aware of the missile’s envelope, ordered a hasty withdrawal tobeyond 500 kilometers from Pakistani shores. The CM-400AKG’s integrationinto PAF operations marked a paradigm shift; no longer confined to coastalskirmishes, Pakistan’s aerial arm could now project lethal force deep intocontested waters, neutralizing high-value assets like the Vikrant withoutrisking its own platforms. In one tense episode on May 8, PAF pilotssimulated launch sequences over the Makran coast, prompting Indian radaroperators to detect phantom threats that echoed the missile’s signature,sowing chaos in fleet formations and compelling a full-scale pullback.
Complementing the PAF’s aerial umbrella was the Pakistan Navy’s (PN)layered surveillance grid, which amplified the deterrence. Submarines likethe Hangor-class, prowling silently beneath the waves, and surfacecombatants equipped with Zarb anti-ship missiles—extended-range variantsreaching 280 kilometers—maintained a vigilant cordon. Though no directengagements materialized, the PN’s real-time intelligence fusion, relayedvia airborne early-warning platforms, fed targeting data to PAF assets,creating an impenetrable kill web. This synergy not only shielded Karachi,Gwadar, and Port Qasim from amphibious threats but also underscoredIslamabad’s doctrinal evolution toward asymmetric maritime denial, wherelong-range precision trumps numerical superiority.
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The Vikrant’s enforced idleness exposed stark asymmetries in South Asiannaval postures. Delhi’s carrier, commissioned amid fanfare in 2022, wasenvisioned as a blue-water enforcer, yet its MiG-29K complement provedwoefully inadequate against the PL-15 air-to-air missiles wielded by PAFJ-10Cs, which claimed four Indian Rafales in nocturnal intercepts.Post-conflict assessments by think tanks like the Stimson Centerhighlighted how Pakistan’s missile proliferation—bolstered by indigenousFatah-series ballistic systems—tilted the balance, compelling India torethink its forward-deployment doctrines. As ceasefire talks brokered byglobal powers quelled the immediate fires on May 10, the episode lingeredas a stark reminder: in the nuclear-shadowed duels of the subcontinent,reach and resolve reign supreme.
For Pakistan, the clash validated investments in hybrid warfarecapabilities, with the CM-400AKG emerging as a cornerstone of credibledeterrence. Yet, whispers of escalation risks persist, as both adversariesrecalibrate amid heightened arms races. The Vikrant’s May timidity, farfrom a footnote, signals a new era where carriers dare not dance too closeto the dragon’s breath.
Source:https://tribune.com.pk/story/2545419/pakistan-navys-effective-strategy-kept-ins-vikrant-confined-to-indias-territorial-watersogimageimage-name
