India ready to resume Operation Sindoor!

As we all know India has started its biggest ever tri-service joint defence exercise Trishul on October 30. The name Trishul itself carries weight-God Shiva’s trident, a symbol of divine power, not exactly subtle when you’re trying to send a message. Launched on October 30 and continuing through mid-November along the Rajasthan–Gujarat frontier, this is India’s most extensive tri-service exercise since Operation Sindoor, held just six months earlier. And for those familiar with defence affairs, Operation Sindoor itself was a turning point, the first time India showcased its ability to carry out sustained, precision strikes deep within Pakistani territory, even as the defending side received real-time Chinese intelligence support. But Trishul has made Sindoor look like a warm-up.
The scale of Exercise Trishul alone tells the story. Deploying 25,000 troops isn’t a standard drill, it’s a clear signal of intent. T-90 tanks thundered across the Thar Desert, while the indigenous Arjun main battle tanks long a subject of debate over delays and cost, finally saw major field action. BrahMos missiles, the joint Indo-Russian hypersonic cruise systems that keep Pakistan’s generals awake at night, were integrated into live-fire sequences. Yet, the real confirmation came from above. Satellite imagery sealed the assessment. Damien Symon, a respected open-source intelligence analyst who monitors global military movements, noted the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) boundaries and described the scale as “unusual.” He wasn’t guessing, he was observing the true geographic breadth of India’s military footprint, visible from space. Exercise Trishul, reserved airspace up to 28,000 feet, the combat ceiling for most fighter aircraft. That altitude isn’t for routine training; it’s where tactical air warfare happens. The airspace stretch from Rajasthan through Gujarat to the Saurashtra coast made it clear: India wasn’t simulating small manoeuvres. Under Trishul, India is conducting critical sub-exercises that reveals the depth of its operational transformation. Agni Drishti tested network-centric warfare, a seamless sensor-to-shooter grid linking naval radars, ground sensors, and air ISR systems. Information sharing was instantaneous, allowing the Army, Navy, and Air Force to act in parallel, cutting decision cycles dramatically. In modern warfare, speed of information and execution determines victory, and India’s is notably faster than before.
Trinetra focused on electromagnetic dominance and counter-drone warfare, validates India’s capacity to jam communications, detect drone threats, and neutralize them through both electronic and kinetic means, a full-spectrum offensive and defensive test under realistic conditions. Trishul concentrates on the Sir Creek region, a 96-kilometre tidal estuary between India’s Rann of Kutch and Pakistan’s Sindh province, where Pakistan has recently expanded military infrastructure. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s declaration at Bhuj, “If Pakistan dares to act in the Sir Creek Sector, the reply will change both history and geography”, underlined the exercise’s deterrent message. Meanwhile, Mahagujraj unfolded in the Northeast, designed not as a single exercise but as a sustained readiness demonstration through six operational phases between November 2025 and January 2026. The focus is India’s most sensitive region, the Siliguri Corridor, the narrow “Chicken’s Neck” connecting the Northeast to the mainland. Using Rafales, Sukhoi-30MKIs, S-400s, Akash systems, and drone platforms, the Indian Air Force institutionalize permanent operational readiness there.
Pakistan, strained by conflict with the Taliban on its western front, responded by issuing nationwide NOTAMs and placing major strike corps on high alert. India, by contrast, demonstrated surplus capacity operating confidently across two fronts. These exercises showcased India’s JAI doctrine: Jointness, Atmanirbharta, and Innovation. For the first time, India’s forces have operated as an integrated whole using indigenous systems, BrahMos, Akash, Arjun, Prachand, and advanced EW and cyber platforms. The message was unmistakable: India is no longer merely defending, it’s asserting power through integration, speed, and self-reliance, projecting credible multi-domain deterrence against both Pakistan and China.
Anyone watching Exercise Trishul could read the message clearly: India no longer plans to wait for enemy to make the first move. The exercise signals a willingness to act pre-emptively, to strike the adversary at the earliest sign of hostile intent. This is the new, assertive India under Modi: proactive, not merely reactive. -Yugal Parashar