Background
Karachi housed the headquarters of the Pakistani Navy and almost the entire Pakistan Navy fleet was based at Karachi Harbour. Karachi was also the hub of Pakistan's maritime trade, meaning that a blockade would be disastrous for Pakistan’s economy. The defence of Karachi harbour was therefore paramount to the Pakistani High Command and it was heavily defended against any air or naval strikes. Karachi received some of the best defence Pakistan had to offer, as well as cover from strike aircraft based at two airfields in the area.
Operation Trident was planned under the leadership of Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda. The Indian Navy's Vidyut class missile boats, had limited range. So the plan for Operation Trident called for towing the missile boats towards Karachi and including a refuelling tanker in the task force to enable the task force to return back to Indian ports. The Vidyut class vessels were each armed with four SS-N-2B Styx surface-to-surface missiles with a maximum range of 40 nmi and a firing system linked to long-range MR-331 Rangout radars.
Read more about this topic: Operation Trident (1971)
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