On the intervening nights of 4 and 5 December 1971, during the Bangladesh Liberation War, five Indian Navy missile boats launched a missile raid on Karachi port, dealing a critical blow to Pakistan Navy (PN). The Navy would follow this up with the sinking of PNS Ghazi, a Pakistani submarine, on the same night on the eastern coast, close to Visakhapatnam. Since then, December 4 is observed as Navy Day.
It’s been 53 years since the Indian Navy participated in a full-fledged war, but that does not diminish the role of our maritime force in ensuring national security.
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In fact, in these five decades Indian Navy’s role has extended beyond the country’s shores and has become a force to reckon with in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The Navy has played a stellar role in maintaining its vigil on the high sea and the skies with its ships as well as surveillance aircrafts.
The Indian Navy has been playing an active role in protecting the maritime trade interests of not only our country, but also others, by acting as the first responder in the IOR against sea pirates and taking relief materials to countries affected by natural disasters. It also seeks to be capable of operating in both the Indian and Pacific Ocean regions.
However, India lives in the shadow of the world’s largest Navy in terms of ship numbers, with China possessing three times India’s vessels. Growing competition with an increasingly assertive China is driving the Indian Navy to acquire additional warships, submarines, and aircraft, as well as invest in technology and infrastructure, and deploy warships around the world.
The Navy aims to have a fully indigenously equipped Navy by 2047 and over the next year will receive a dozen new warships – some 50 are in various stages of construction, with all but two being built at Indian shipyards.
Presently, the Indian Navy has about 130 medium to large vessels in service and aims to grow this to 155-160 by 2030 and 170-175 by 2035, providing sufficient strength to secure both sea flanks in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
In spite of schedule and budget overruns by local shipyards, successive commissioning of locally built vessels is a sign of India’s growing military industrial base and a shift away from foreign dependency.
At any time there are at least half a dozen Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean along with a large number of fishing vessels and research ships, requiring constant surveillance. To meet Chinese ambitions, India’s Navy is investing substantially in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) vessels, maritime patrol aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and upgrading facilities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as well as the Lakshadweep archipelago.
The Navy has already acquired an indigenously built aircraft carrier (IAC) INS Vikrant, named after the legendary aircraft carrier that played a stellar role in India’s victory in the 1971 war. The Second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-2) is also proposed for the Indian Navy.
It has added two indigenously built nuclear powered and armed submarines Arihant and Arighat. It is in the process of adding a few more of them to add muscle to its armoury. The Navy also successfully tested the K-4 nuclear-capable ballistic missile from INS Arighat, a critical step in showcasing India’s readiness in the underwater domain.
Currently, 62 ships and one submarine are under construction in Indian shipyards. At the same time, 31 additional platforms have received initial approvals.
The Indian Navy is on the verge of significant advancements in its aviation capabilities. The anticipated procurement of 26 Rafale-Marine jets from France is expected to significantly enhance carrier-based air power, complementing India’s fleet of MiG-29Ks. Additionally, the Navy bolsters its surveillance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities with platforms like the Boeing P-8I Poseidon and Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters. The proposed induction of 31 MQ-9B drones will further expand the Navy’s ability to monitor the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
The Navy’s expansion is needed to not only counter China and Pakistan but respond to other threats such as piracy, smuggling and natural disasters. The Indian Navy is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping India’s strategic trajectory. By focusing on indigenous innovation, technological integration, and global partnerships, the Navy continues to reflect the nation’s maritime aspirations.
With the times changing and with it the challenges also undergoing a sea change, the Navy too must continuously evolve to deal with these challenges effectively. As India aspires to lead the Global South, a term that refers to countries that are less developed socially and technically, and are primarily located in the Southern Hemisphere, Indian Navy will have a key role to play in this regard.
