NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy on Sunday successfully carried out multiple anti-ship missile firings, reaffirming its commitment to protecting the nation’s maritime interests.
In a statement released on X, the Navy said, “Indian Navy Ships undertook successful multiple anti-ship firings to revalidate and demonstrate readiness of platforms, systems and crew for long range precision offensive strike. Indian Navy stands Combat Ready Credible and Future Ready in safeguarding the nation’s maritime interests Anytime Anywhere Anyhow.”
The tests come under the backdrop of heightened tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, where 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
On Thursday, Navy’s latest indigenous guided missile destroyer, INS Surat, also conducted a successful test firing of the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MR-SAM) system in the Arabian Sea. The MR-SAM, developed jointly with Israel, is highly effective against surface-to-surface missiles and aerial threats, boasting an interception range of around 70 kilometres. “Indian Navy’s latest indigenous guided missile destroyer INS Surat successfully carried out a precision cooperative engagement of a sea-skimming target, marking another milestone in strengthening our defence capabilities,” the Navy said.
INS Surat, commissioned in January 2025, is the fourth and final Visakhapatnam-class stealth destroyer built under the P15B project. With 75 percent indigenous content, it showcases India’s growing self-reliance in defence manufacturing and its advanced capabilities in warship design and development. The warship is equipped with BrahMos and Barak-8 missiles, AI integration, advanced radar systems, and sophisticated network-centric warfare capabilities, marking a significant boost to India’s multi-domain maritime strength.
The Navy’s recent demonstrations come as India takes a tough stance against terrorism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the nation after the Pahalgam attack, promised that terrorists responsible for the killings would be “identified, tracked, and punished”. He said, “The punishment will be significant and stringent, which these terrorists would have never even thought about,” and pledged that India’s spirit would never be broken by terrorism.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has since taken over the probe into the Pahalgam attack, intensifying efforts to expose the conspiracy behind one of Kashmir’s deadliest terror incidents.