The Indian Navy is moving to acquire counter-drone systems and longer-range attack vectors after lessons from Operation Sindoor, Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti said, tying the push to the May 7–10, 2025 India–Pakistan hostilities sparked by the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. During the standoff, INS Vikrant with MiG‑29K fighters adopted a forward posture that constrained Pakistan’s air and naval activity to the Makran coast, reinforcing deterrence in the northern Arabian Sea, according to official briefings and subsequent analyses. Sobti stressed cost-effective defenses against low-cost UAVs, reflecting a tactical shift toward layered, affordable counter‑UAS alongside enhanced strike options post‑Sindoor.