The Indian Navy has a total of 68 warships and vessels on order collectively worth an estimated 2 lakh crores in line with the quest to build a stronger blue water force, to protect and expand its geostrategic interests as well as to counter the Chinese footprint in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
The 132 warship Navy with 143 aircraft and 130 helicopters also has the acceptance of necessity of (AoN) for another eight corvettes (next generation) and nine submarines coupled with five survey vessels and two multipurpose vessels to be built in India in the coming years.
Faced with the slow pace of construction in the Indian Shipyards, progressive decommissioning of old ships and budgetary constraints the Indian Navy will however reach a force of just about 155-160 warships by 2030.
Aim of the Indian Navy
As per a source, “The figures are dynamic. But the aim now is to have at least 175 warships if not 200 by 2035 for credible strategic reach, mobility, and flexibility in the IOR and beyond. There will have to be a concomitant increase in the number of fighters, aircraft, and drones.
Threat from China
The growing maritime threat from China cannot be ignored. The Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) or the Chinese Navy is aggressively hunting for more overseas basses apart from the East African Port of Djibouti (Horn Of Africa) along with Gwadar, Pakistan, and the possible Ream in Cambodia to overcome its existing logistical challenges in the IOR and the Indo-Pacific Region.
China is also building naval warships and vessels at a furious rate to further add what is the world’s largest navy with 355 submarines and warships. China has inducted as many as 150 warships over the last ten years. Projection also shows that the PLAN naval inventory will be composed of 555 warships in another five to six years. Moreover, Chinese aircraft carriers will also begin to operate in the IOR by then.
Concerns for the Indian Navy
The Indian Navy, however, is even yet to get the preliminary nod for the construction of a third aircraft carrier that will take over a decade to build, the case for the smaller 45,000-tonne repeat order of the INS Vikrant which is still away from becoming a combat-ready after being commissioned a year ago is now being finalized as instead of more potent and cost-effective 65,000-ton carrier.
Another concern is the depleting number of underwater combat arms. With the continuing delay in the kicking of the long-standing Project 75-A to build six advanced diesel-electric submarines for over 42,000 crores, the government is now going in for acquiring three French-origin Scorpene submarines which will be built at the Mazagaon Docks Limited (MDL). They will follow the first six submarines built for 23,000 crores.
Good News for the Indian Navy
The good news is that the seven 6,670-ton stealth frigates being constructed under Project-17A- four at MDL and three at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders Enterprises (GRSE) in the city of Kolkata at an overall cost of Rs 45,000 crores are slated for delivery in the time period of 2024-2026.
Of the other 61 ships on order all are also being constructed in India except for two frigates in Russia and more guided Missile destroyers (INS Imphal and INS Surat) will also follow the first two, the INS Vishakhapatnam and INS Mormugao commissioned earlier under the Rs 35,000 crore Project -15B at the MDL. Then there is the recently inked over Rs 19,000 crore contract with the Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) for the 44,000-ton fleet support ships, whose deliveries will begin after four years.
There are also six next-generation missile destroyers to be built by the Cochin Shipyard for Rs 9805 crores with the deliveries beginning in March 2027. The deliveries of the eleven offshore patrol vessels, seven at the Goa Shipyard Limited, and four at the GRSE in turn will commence from September 2026 at an overall cost of Rs 9,781 crore.
