New Delhi, Dec. 18: Defence minister A.K. Antony today asked the military to be ready for “challenges”, two days after saying that India was not considering warlike measures against Pakistan.

The announcement of a meeting Antony took with the chiefs of the armed forces and the defence secretary is meant to accompany a policy of coercive diplomacy since the November 26-28 attacks. India also tested its ship-launched 290km-range Brahmos missile today.

But Delhi’s Pakistan policy since the Mumbai attacks has been peppered with blow-hot-blow-cold statements, among the most surprising of which was the defence minister’s remark on Tuesday that India was “not considering military action”.

Serving and retired officers found this uncharacteristic of a defence minister whose job is to assure the country that “the military is always prepared”, as a former army chief put it.

In its statement, the ministry today said: “The position with regard to certain critical equipment and the status of ongoing acquisition was reviewed in detail.”

A senior official said Antony was concerned with the wherewithal of the military. Even a cursory survey of hardware available shows that India’s military is not satisfied with the state of its inventory.

The Indian Navy’s flagship, the aircraft carrier INS Viraat, is in the docks for repairs and will not be available for at least another six months. A large destroyer, the INS Mysore, is patrolling the coast off Somalia.

The Indian Air Force’s frontline MiG-29 and Mirage fighter aircraft are going through upgrades that are tardy and even its programme to acquire Awacs (airborne warning and control system) aircraft from Israel is delayed by a year.

The army has been desperately seeking to modernise its artillery guns for the last seven years and has to rely on vintage World War II-era cannons.

The official pointed out that a proposal to acquire 108 20-tonne and five-tonne fast-attack boats for coastal security had been in the works for six years. It was finally cleared last fortnight 48 hours after the Mumbai attacks. The order has been given to Calcutta-based public sector firm Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers.

Weekly meetings between the defence minister and the service chiefs, with the defence secretary also in attendance, are routine.

But today Antony wanted the meeting to be publicised and asked the ministry to put out a statement that said: “Security along the land and maritime borders, particularly in the light of terror threats, was reviewed.”

By saying on Tuesday that “we are not planning any military action”, Antony immediately assuaged western and Pakistani fears to a large extent. Islamabad immediately welcomed the assurance.

But today’s statement that the minister “emphasised the need for the forces to be fully geared to face any challenge or threat that may arise” stokes the war of words again.

In between the two statements, Islamabad has steadily edged closer to its original position that Pakistan was not involved in sponsoring the Mumbai attacks.

Pakistan also summoned India’s deputy high commissioner in Islamabad today and formally protested against the alleged airspace violation by Indian fighter jets on December 13-14.

Antony has summoned another meeting on Saturday to review coastal security. Last week, he had called one for a threat assessment of aerial attacks after which the IAF moved into an “operational readiness platform”.