Exercise Trishul 2025 showcases India’s tri-service integration

From the sun-baked deserts of Rajasthan to the windswept shores of Gujarat and the turbulent waters of the northern Arabian Sea, Exercise Trishul 2025—launched on November 4, 2025—unfolds as India’s most ambitious tri-service combat validation drill since Operation Sindoor. Spearheaded by the Western Naval Command, this 14-day high-intensity exercise integrates over 10,000 personnel, 40 warships, 60 aircraft, and 150 armored vehicles to simulate a multi-domain, multi-axis offensive against a nuclear-backed adversary.

Scope and Scale: A Theater-Wide War Game

Unlike previous standalone exercises, Trishul 2025 operates under a unified Integrated Theatre Command (ITC) framework, with the Southern Army Command, South Western Air Command, and Western Naval Command executing synchronized maneuvers across three domains:

• Land: Pokhran and Jaisalmer ranges – mechanized thrusts, urban combat
• Sea: Gulf of Kutch to Karachi approaches – carrier strike, amphibious landings
• Air: Bhuj to Jodhpur – deep strikes, SEAD/DEAD missions
• Cyber-Electronic: Jamming, spoofing, AI-driven ISR fusion

From Sindoor to Trishul: Evolution of Jointness

Operation Sindoor (May 2025) exposed gaps in real-time targeting and electronic warfare coordination. Trishul 2025 addresses these with:

• AI-enabled Joint Battle Management System (JBMS) fusing satellite, drone, and sonar feeds
• Indigenous Netra AEW&C directing BrahMos strikes from 300 km
• Quantum-encrypted comms between INS Vikrant and Apache gunships

Amphibious Blitz: Gujarat Coast Assault

At 0400 hours on November 6, INS Jalashwa—India’s only LPD—led a dawn amphibious assault on a simulated enemy beachhead near Dwarka. MARCOS infiltrated via Klepper canoes and CRRC boats, neutralizing coastal defenses before K9 Vajra SP guns rolled off landing craft. Overhead, Apache helicopters provided close air support while Rafales suppressed air defenses 80 km inland.

The operation validated the Amphibious Task Force (ATF) concept, with real-time drone swarms from DRDO TAPAS BH-201 providing targeting data to naval guns 40 km offshore.

Cyber-Electronic Dominance: The Invisible Front

A dedicated Cyber-Electronic Warfare Group (CEWG) from Pune executed:

• GPS spoofing to divert simulated enemy missiles into the sea
• AI-driven malware injection into adversary C4I networks
• Directed energy weapons (DEW) to fry drone swarms

The ‘Trishul Effect’ on Pakistan

Across the border, the drill triggered panic. Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) postponed its November 7 rally in Lahore, citing “security concerns.” Pakistani media reported increased PAF patrols near Sir Creek, while ISPR issued statements calling Trishul “provocative.”

DefenceNiti sources confirm Pakistan Navy’s Type 054A/P frigates conducted emergency drills 200 km west of Karachi—mirroring Trishul’s anti-ship maneuvers.

Indigenous Firepower on Display

Trishul 2025 is a showcase of Aatmanirbhar Bharat:

• BrahMos-NG: First live launch from Tejas Mk1A
• Akash-NG: Intercepted 6 hypersonic targets at 45 km
• Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW): Destroyed mock runway in Pokhran
• DRDO Swarm Drones: 100-unit saturation attack on tank column

Strategic Messaging and Future Roadmap

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, observing from INS Vikrant, stated: “Trishul is not just an exercise—it is a capability demonstration. Any misadventure will be met with a tri-service hammer.”

Post-exercise, the ITC will finalize:

• Standing Joint Task Forces for Western and Northern fronts
• Integration of Project Kusha (Phase-2 LR-SAM) by 2027
• Annual Trishul-series rotation with QUAD partners

As the trishul—symbol of divine retribution—cuts through the Rajasthan sky with Tejas contrails and Arabian Sea with Vikrant’s wake, Exercise Trishul 2025 sends an unmistakable message: India’s armed forces are not just integrated—they are invincible.