Service of State
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime-warfare service of the Indian Armed Forces, responsible for securing India's coastline, island territories and sea lines of communication across the Indian Ocean. It operates aircraft carriers, nuclear-powered submarines and a surface fleet from three commands, and is the instrument through which India provides security and exercises influence in the Indian Ocean Region. It reports through the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy) under the Chief of the Naval Staff.
Updated
- Headquarters
- Nausena Bhawan, New Delhi (Integrated HQ, MoD-Navy)
- Commands
- Western (Mumbai), Eastern (Visakhapatnam), Southern/Training (Kochi)
- Fleet
- ~150 warships and submarines in commission; ~300 naval aircraft (reference)
- Carriers
- 2 active: INS Vikramaditya, INS Vikrant
Role
The Indian Navy is the maritime service of the Indian Armed Forces. It secures India’s roughly 7,500-kilometre coastline, its island territories in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, its exclusive economic zone and the sea lines of communication through which most of the country’s trade and energy move. It carries the sea-based leg of India’s nuclear deterrent aboard ballistic-missile submarines, and it is a principal instrument of Indian influence in the Indian Ocean Region, where it conducts anti-piracy patrols, maritime-security partnerships and humanitarian relief. The service is organised into three commands — the Western (Mumbai) and Eastern (Visakhapatnam) operational commands covering the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, and the Southern Command (Kochi), which is the training command.
Operational and administrative control runs through the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy) at Nausena Bhawan in New Delhi, under the Chief of the Naval Staff, who is assisted by the Vice Chief and other Principal Staff Officers. The service is a seat of maritime power because it, and not any individual, holds the platforms — carriers, submarines and a fleet of around 150 warships and submarines — and the doctrine through which India acts at sea. It is also a leading edge of India’s indigenous warship-building programme under Atmanirbhar Bharat, drawing on public-sector yards at Mazagon Dock, Garden Reach, Cochin Shipyard and Hindustan Shipyard.
Desk maintained by IndiaStand editorial cycles. Officeholders are transient; this dossier tracks the institution.
Timeline since 1947
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Navy inherited at independence
On Partition the Royal Indian Navy's assets were divided; India received roughly 32 vessels and about 11,000 personnel.
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Reconstituted as the Indian Navy
With the Republic's founding the service dropped the 'Royal' prefix and its ships took the designation INS (Indian Naval Ship).
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Naval blockade in the war with Pakistan
The Navy enforced a blockade of East and West Pakistan and struck Karachi harbour, with the carrier INS Vikrant operating in the Bay of Bengal.
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Continuous anti-piracy patrol begins in the Gulf of Aden
The Navy began escorting Indian-flagged merchant vessels through the Gulf of Aden in 2008 under Operation Pirates of Gulf; the Ministry of Defence records 127 Indian Navy ships deployed there since, with the mission extended to the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa from 2022.
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First indigenous SSBN Arihant launched under the ATV project
The submarine was launched at the Ship Building Centre, Visakhapatnam, under the Advanced Technology Vessel project begun in the 1980s, and entered service only in 2016 after fitting out and sea trials.
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INS Vikramaditya commissioned, restoring carrier aviation
The refurbished Soviet-era carrier Admiral Gorshkov, bought under a January 2004 contract and rebuilt at a reported cost of about USD 2.35 billion, was commissioned at Severodvinsk in Russia and gave the Navy a 45,000-tonne carrier.
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Maritime strategy rewritten as Ensuring Secure Seas
The Navy replaced its 2007 strategy Freedom to Use the Seas with Ensuring Secure Seas: Indian Maritime Security Strategy, widening the stated remit from sea control to maritime security, coastal defence and the Indian Ocean Region.
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First indigenous ballistic-missile submarine enters service
INS Arihant gave India a sea-based leg of its nuclear triad, making it one of a small group of states operating an indigenous SSBN.
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INS Kalvari commissioned, first submarine of Project 75
The first of six Scorpene-class boats licence-built at Mazagon Dock, Mumbai, was commissioned, beginning the replacement of the Navy's ageing conventional submarine fleet.
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First deterrence patrol by INS Arihant completes the nuclear triad
The Navy's ballistic-missile submarine returned from its first deterrence patrol, and the government declared India's air, land and sea-based nuclear triad operational.
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INS Vikrant, first indigenous aircraft carrier, commissioned
Built by Cochin Shipyard and designed by the Navy's Warship Design Bureau, the carrier was commissioned at Cochin Shipyard in Kochi.
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Parliament passes the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act
The Bill, pending since its introduction in December 2019, was passed by the Lok Sabha on 19 December and the Rajya Sabha on 21 December 2022; it applies to the high seas beyond 200 nautical miles and sets penalties up to life imprisonment or death for piracy causing death.
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Maritime Security Operations launched in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea
Following the Israel-Hamas conflict and Houthi attacks on shipping, the Navy deployed over 30 ships to the region and responded to more than 25 incidents; as of November 2024 the Ministry of Defence recorded over 230 merchant vessels escorted carrying over 90 lakh metric tonnes of cargo valued above USD 4 billion, and more than 400 lives saved.
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INS Vikrant begins Final Operational Clearance trials
After certification of its aviation facilities the indigenous carrier began FOC, during which more than 750 hours of flying were undertaken with carrier-borne fighters and all naval helicopter types.
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Navy and Air Force mount joint recapture of the hijacked MV Ruen
An IAF C-17 inserted two combat boats, armament and MARCOS teams in international airspace in support of Navy anti-piracy operations to retake the bulk carrier MV Ruen, hijacked by Somali pirates near Socotra.
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Second SSBN INS Arighaat commissioned
The second Arihant-class ballistic-missile submarine was commissioned at Visakhapatnam, deepening the sea-based deterrent.
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Builder's Navy: 63 of 64 planned warships being built in India
The Ministry of Defence recorded over 133 ships and submarines built and commissioned in India to date, 63 of the 64 warships planned for induction under construction in Indian yards, and orders for 62 more ships and submarines in the final stages of approval.
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Three indigenous platforms commissioned together at Mumbai
The destroyer Surat (the last of Project 15B), the stealth frigate Nilgiri (first of Project 17A) and the submarine Vagsheer (sixth and final Kalvari-class boat of Project 75) were commissioned on the same day at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.
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SAGAR vision widened to MAHASAGAR
During a visit to Mauritius the government reframed its 2015 SAGAR maritime vision as MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions), extending it beyond regional security to economic and technological cooperation.
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Navy holds North Arabian Sea posture during Operation Sindoor
In the tri-service Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, the Ministry of Defence records the Navy maintaining a deployed posture in the North Arabian Sea while the Air Force struck from the air; the two sides' Directors General of Military Operations agreed on 12 May to cease military operations.
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India to host IFR 2026, MILAN 2026 and the IONS Conclave at Visakhapatnam
The Ministry of Defence announced the first simultaneous conduct of the International Fleet Review, Exercise MILAN and the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium Conclave of Chiefs at Visakhapatnam from 15 to 25 February 2026, at which the Navy takes the IONS chairmanship for a second time (2025-2027) across 25 members and 9 observers.
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New maritime strategy INMSS-2026 released
At the Naval Commanders' Conference in New Delhi the Navy released the Indian Navy Maritime Security Strategy 2026 (INMSS-2026), its third public maritime strategy after 'Freedom to Use the Seas' (2007) and 'Ensuring Secure Seas' (2015).
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27th Chief of the Naval Staff assumes charge
Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, a communication and electronic-warfare specialist commissioned in 1987, took over as the 27th Chief of the Naval Staff on 31 May 2026.
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Frigate Dunagiri, survey vessel Sanshodhak and ASW craft Agray commissioned together
Three indigenous platforms — the Project 17A stealth frigate INS Dunagiri, the large survey vessel INS Sanshodhak and the anti-submarine shallow-water craft INS Agray — were commissioned at Kolkata in the Prime Minister's presence.
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INS Mahendragiri, sixth Project 17A frigate, joins the Eastern Fleet
Built by Mazagon Dock with over 75% indigenous content, Mahendragiri was the sixth Nilgiri-class (Project 17A) stealth frigate inducted in about 18 months, after Nilgiri (January 2025), Udaygiri and Himgiri (August 2025), Taragiri (April 2026) and Dunagiri (June 2026).
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INS Malvan commissioned, sixth of 16 anti-submarine shallow-water craft
The second Mahe-class ASW shallow-water craft built by Cochin Shipyard, with over 80% indigenous content, was commissioned at Karwar; the third CSL-built craft, Mangrol, was delivered on 21 August 2026.
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Two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones leased for 30 months
The Ministry of Defence signed a contract worth about ₹1,943 crore with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian high-altitude long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft for the Navy's maritime domain awareness.
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INS Nipun commissioned, giving the Navy two dedicated submarine-rescue ships
The second Nistar-class diving support vessel, built by Hindustan Shipyard, was commissioned at Mumbai; four days earlier L&T delivered Samarthak, the first indigenous multi-purpose vessel, built as a trials and evaluation platform.
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AoN for Arudhra radars and indigenous marine gas turbines
The Defence Acquisition Council approved Arudhra radars to replace air-route surveillance radars at naval air stations, and the design, development and procurement of marine gas turbines for warship propulsion to reduce dependence on foreign vendors.
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Keel laid for first Next Generation Missile Vessel
The first NGMV, contracted with Cochin Shipyard in March 2023, had its keel laid at Kochi; steel was cut for the second.
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First indigenous Fleet Support Ship launched at Hindustan Shipyard
FSS-1, the first of the replenishment-at-sea Fleet Support Ships with over 82% indigenous content, was launched at Visakhapatnam and the keel of FSS-5 was laid; the same day the ministry signed a ₹661.50 crore contract with BrahMos Aerospace for shipborne BrahMos fire-control systems and launchers.
Frequently asked
- What is Indian Navy?
- The Indian Navy is the maritime-warfare service of the Indian Armed Forces, responsible for securing India's coastline, island territories and sea lines of communication across the Indian Ocean. It operates aircraft carriers, nuclear-powered submarines and a surface fleet from three commands, and is the instrument through which India provides security and exercises influence in the Indian Ocean Region. It reports through the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy) under the Chief of the Naval Staff.
- When was Indian Navy established?
- Indian Navy was established 1950-01-26.
- What does Indian Navy do?
- Its remit covers Sea control and maritime defence of India's coast, islands and EEZ, Sea-based nuclear deterrence via ballistic-missile submarines, Protection of sea lines of communication and anti-piracy patrols, Maritime diplomacy and first-responder role in the Indian Ocean Region, Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief at sea.
- What is the latest on Indian Navy?
- As of 2026-10-07: First indigenous Fleet Support Ship launched at Hindustan Shipyard. FSS-1, the first of the replenishment-at-sea Fleet Support Ships with over 82% indigenous content, was launched at Visakhapatnam and the keel of FSS-5 was laid; the same day the ministry signed a ₹661.50 crore contract with BrahMos Aerospace for shipborne BrahMos fire-control systems and launchers.
Official sources
The government's own pages for this institution — go straight to the primary.
- Official website
www.indiannavy.nic.in/
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Canonical home of the Indian Navy — organisation, commands, fleet, operations and news.
indiannavy.gov.in/
- Navy — Department of Defence, MoD department
The Navy's page under the Department of Defence, its parent department in the Ministry of Defence.
www.mod.gov.in/dod/en/navy
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Year-by-year MoD annual reports; the Navy chapter covers force levels, acquisitions and operations.
www.mod.gov.in/dod/en/annual--report
- MoD Year End Review 2025 (PIB) reports
Consolidated official year-end summary of Ministry of Defence activity, including naval inductions and exercises.
www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2210154®=3&lang
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Press Information Bureau release archive, filterable to Ministry of Defence; the primary channel for naval announcements.
www.pib.gov.in/Allrel.aspx?reg=3&lang=1
- Navy Act, 1957 — India Code legislation
The governing statute for the Indian Navy, with sections, rules, regulations and notifications.
www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/1400?view_type=browse
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Official recruitment portal for officer, sailor and Agniveer entries.
www.joinindiannavy.gov.in/
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