With a view to assess the Air Defence capabilities during the ongoing annual Pakistan Navy Maritime Exercise Seaspark 12, Pakistan Navy today, has successfully fired a combination of surface to air missiles. Firing of Surface to AIR MISSILES (SAMs) carried out in the Makran coastal Area, precisely hit their targets. Naval Chief Admiral M Asif Sandila, present on the occasion along with the Higher Commands, witnessed the firing. Congratulating the officers, CPOs and Sailors of Air Defence Battalion of Coastal Command on conducting missile firing successfully, the Naval Chief said that these firings had fortified the defence of country’s coastal line. These weapons give Pakistan Navy the flexibility to operate the various missiles and strengthen the ground based Air Defence. He reiterated that Pakistan Navy was not oblivious of defence of its maritime borders and it would take all possible steps for the sake of defence of the country. It should be the prime objective of all of us to ensure that resources and assets which the nation provides us at the cost of many other important needs, are put to the best use for achieving maximum operational effectiveness, he underlined. Earlier, Commander Coast briefed that these firing drills are part of Navy’s wide initiative to evaluate and improve its firepower capabilities. The area of responsibility of Pakistan Navy Air Defence Battalion stretches from Sir Creek in the east to Jiwani in the west and these modern weapons and equipment will augment the PN’s ground based Air Defence capabilities against aircrafts and missiles. Later, the Chief of the Naval Staff witnessed the harbor defence exercise at Jinnah Naval Base (JNB), Ormara and interacted with officers and CPOs/Sailors. He lauded the spirit and efforts put in by all to ensure the impregnable security of JNB.
