Long voyage for the 'Silent Service'

The navy's capabilities are key to why the US is keen on partnering India in the Indo-Pacific

Tuesday is the annual Navy Day, when the so-called “Silent Service” celebrates the stellar success of Operation Trident on December 4, 1971 — the bombing of Karachi harbour by three Russian-built missile boats of the navy’s Killer Squadron. The attack sank one Pakistani destroyer, badly damaged another, sank a minesweeper and a cargo vessel filled with ammunition. It set ablaze fuel storage tanks in Karachi port, causing a national fuel shortage that hamstrung Pakistan through the war. 

The Karachi attack was borne of desperation. The navy had remained on the sidelines in all three previous wars -- the 1947-48 war with