The Pakistan Navy on Friday fired a variety of missiles and torpedoes from warships, submarines and aircraft in an intensive firepower drill in the north Arabian Sea. It said the exercise was a message to “nefarious” forces, an apparent reference to India.
“While [giving a reassurance about the] Pakistan Navy's commitment to defending the motherland, this strike capability would also send a message of deterrence to anyone harbouring nefarious designs against Pakistan,” a Navy statement said after the manoeuvres.
The manoeuvres were aimed at assessing the lethality, precision and efficacy of weapon systems, the statement said.
Newly-inducted weapons systems, including anti-surface missiles on Chinese-made F-22 P frigates and air-to-surface missiles of the P3C maritime surveillance aircraft were among those tested.
An important feature of the drill was the firing of subsurface-to-surface missiles by Agosta 90B submarines.
“The target set was successfully engaged,” the statement said.
Naval Chief Admiral Noman Bashir, who witnessed the event, expressed satisfaction at the operational readiness of the Pakistan Navy fleet, and commended officers and men for their commitment and professionalism.
Area cleared
The weapon firing zone, spread over hundreds of miles, was cleared of all merchant ships and fishing craft during a special operation to ensure the safe conduct of the drill. The missiles fired included the French-acquired SM 39 surface-to-surface missiles, and the AM 39 air launched version of the same missile.
The naval exercise comes after Pakistan reportedly recently acquired 120 Chinese C802 long-range anti-ship cruise missiles to counter the Indian Navy's BrahMos missiles.
The Pakistan Navy has announced the firing of test missiles from ships, submarines, and aircraft during operations in the Arabian Sea. 

Pakistani officials said that the tests were a display of commitment to the protection of Pakistan and sent "a message of deterrence to anyone harbouring nefarious designs against Pakistan".  The statement, released shortly after the operation, also said that the tests were designed to measure the "lethality, precision and efficacy" of the weapons.

Pakistan's Naval Chief, Admiral Noman Bashir, was a witness to the event, and said that he was pleased with the tests, saying that he was satisfied with the state of the Pakistani Navy. He also commended the performance of the Navy personnel involved with the tests.

The maneuvers included tests of newly acquired missiles of a Chinese design, and came just a month after India tested a missile of similar design to some of the Pakistani weapons. India's test involved a missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons, although it was unclear if Pakistan's test included weapons capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.