India has commenced its 12-day tri-services military exercise Trishul on the Pakistan border and its first war game since Operation Sindoor six months ago.
Trishul will involve special forces, commandos, missiles, batteries, warships, battle tanks, and attack aircraft, including the Rafale and Sukhoi Su-30, carrying out simulated offensive strikes into the southern park to test the Indian Armed Forces’ readiness in a post-Sindhur scenario. The exercises will take place across Gujarat and Rajasthan, but the focus will likely be on the former and especially on the Kachh region, the expected flashpoint with Pakistan.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh signalled as much earlier this month when he warned of attacking Karachi through Sirk Creek, which is a narrow and disputed strip of water less than 100 km long in the tidal estuary between Gujarat’s run of Kachh and Pakistan.
The western half of the creek belongs to Pakistan and the eastern to India. The Tri-Service Military Drill will commence from October 30th to November 10th. Officials in New Delhi describe it as a display of jointness, self-reliance, and innovation.
Indian Defence Ministry states that the threshold will test the interoperability and indigenous defence system, including electronic warfare and surveillance platforms. There have been airspace closures up to 28,000 feet, amphibious operations off the Saurashtra coast, and offensive manoeuvres in the deserts and creek sectors. Satellite image analysts have described the scale of the exercises as unusual.
“Troops from Southern Command will actively participate to validate joint operations across diverse and challenging terrains, including offensive manoeuvres in the creek and desert sectors, amphibious operations off the Saurashtra coast, and joint multi-domain operational exercises,” the statement read.
Read more: India and Russia commit to new aircraft production partnership
Sir Creek To Karachi: Exercise Trishul To Lay Out India’s Strike Plan For Southern Pakistan
Sir Creek sits barely 200 kilometres from Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and its economic jugular. The Sir Creek-Badin-Karachi belt represents one of Pakistan’s weakest military… pic.twitter.com/O1R4GFGbV8
— Sanbeer Singh Ranhotra (@SSanbeer) October 29, 2025
It appears that the exercises are calibrated to showcase power to adversaries abroad and audiences at home. In response to India’s issues of notice to airmen, Pakistan has also expanded and issued a notice to air missions covering the majority of its airspace, as India’s exercise is set to commence in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The Indian Army is expected to deploy more than 20,000 soldiers as well as main battle tanks, howitzers, armed helicopters, and missile systems. Drills like Trinetra, with a focus on full-scale electromagnetic spectrum operations, encounter unmanned aerial systems skill chains that are already being conducted by the 21 Sudarshan Chakra Strikes Corps in the desert sector.
The Indian Air Force could also conduct Maha Gujarat and deploy Rafales and Sukhoi-30MKIs special aircraft, helicopters, remotely piloted aircraft, and force enablers like IL-78 mid-air refuelers, and airborne early warning and control aircraft. The Navy has also deployed some frigates and destroyers off the Gujarat coast.
With Additional Inputs from GVS South Asia Desk