# Future of the Indian Navy

The Indian Navy has been focusing on developing indigenous platforms, systems, sensors and weapons as part of the nation's modernisation and expansion of its maritime forces. As of January 2025, the Indian Navy had 64 vessels of various types under construction including destroyers, frigates, corvettes, conventional-powered and nuclear-powered submarines and various other ships. It plans to build up to a total of 200 vessels and 500 aircraft by 2050. According to the Chief of the Naval Staff's statement in December 2020, India has transformed from a buyer's navy to a builder's navy.
As of September 2024, the Indian Navy has 66 ships on order of which 50 are under construction in various stages (early fabrication to sea trials) and 12 ships are to be delivered and commissioned over the 12 months in 2025. These ships sum up a tonnage of over 200,000 tons and a value of ₹1.1 lakh crore (US$13 billion). The ships are being constructed across 6 shipyards in India while 1 ship is under construction in Russia. The Russian-origin ship is the last warship to be imported for the Navy. The Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for 31 additional warships have also been granted by the Government. The Navy plans to have between 155-160 warships by 2030 and between 175-200 warship navy by 2035.
The increasing interest of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy in the Indian Ocean region has led the Indian Navy to invest more in anti-submarine ships, such as the Kamorta-class corvette, long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft such as the Boeing P-8 Poseidon and ships such as the Saryu-class patrol vessel and unmanned aerial vehicles such as the IAI Heron-1. However the lack of a strong submarine fleet has diminished its capabilities to some extent. Post-Chinese intrusions into Ladakh in 2020, it has been announced that the Indian Navy plans to upgrade the military facilities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on the eastern seaboard as well as Lakshadweep on the western seaboard, with the aim of having a network of island airbases in both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal which provides an infrastructure which will guarantee freedom of navigation and overflight to all Indian territories.
As for indigenisation the Indian Navy is following the "Roll-on Plan for 2023-26" while the progress is being monitored by Centre for Indigenisation & Self Reliance (CISR) at Coimbatore. The CISR has two Indigenisation Units (IUs) with one at Visakhapatnam, whose area of responsibility includes the Eastern Naval Command & Andaman and Nicobar Command and the other at Mumbai to supervise Western Naval Command. Three aspects are recognised for evaluating the indigenous content of a ship which includes Float (Hull and its related fittings and components), Move (Engines, Complete propulsions systems, etc.) and Fight (Sensor suites and Weapon systems) categories. As of October 2024, 90%, 60% and 50% of the respective categories have been indigenised. The Navy also plans to increase the indigenous content on already-commissioned frontline warships like INS Vikramaditya, Kalvari-class submarine, Talwar-class frigate and Deepak-class fleet tanker.

## Submarines

This indicates that a Request For Information (RFI) has currently been issued for this project. The issue of an RFI is not a commitment for procurement.
24 Submarines planned in total by 2030. India has a 30-year plan that ends in 2030 to induct 24 submarines.
India is planned to have 24 submarines in total by 2030 including (4 Arihant class, 3 S5 class, 9 Scorpene class, 6 Project 75 class & 2 Midget submarines).

### Nuclear Submarines (5)

| Class | Picture | Type | No. of Boats | Origin | Displacement (Standard) | Note |
| Arihant class | | Ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) | 2 in service 2 Launched | India | 6000 tonnes for S2 & S3 7,000 tonnes for S4 & S4* | Second flight of 3 Arihant-class submarines with eight VLS of SLBMs as against four VLS on the earlier 2 submarines. Due to development delays of S5-class, another submarine is planned under Arihant Class. |
| S5 class | | Ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) | 3 planned | India | 13,500 tonnes | The SSBN project, budgeted at ₹10,000 crore (US$1.1 billion), is yet to be approved as of September 2024. |

### Conventional Submarines (9)

| Class | Picture | Type | No. of Boats | Origin | Displacement | Note |
| Kalvari class Batch-II | | Attack submarine | 3 Planned | India  France | 1,800 tonnes | Follow on contract for 3 more submarines is expected to be signed soon. |
| Project 75I class | | Attack submarine | 6 Planned | India | 3,000 tonnes | Defence Acquisition Council cleared the purchase of six submarines worth ₹53,000 crore (equivalent to ₹850 billion or US$9.7 billion in 2023) in October 2014. In April 2019, an Expression of Interest was issued for twelve stealth submarines capable of remaining underwater for much longer period and firing submarine-launched land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles. Field Evaluation Trials (FET) of competing submarine designs have been completed by Indian Navy in June 2024. |

### Midget submarines (2)

| Class | Picture | Type | No. of Boats | Origin | Displacement | Note |
| Swimmer Delivery Vehicle | | Midget submarine | 2 on order | India | 150 tonnes | Indian Navy will acquire at least 5 midget submarines for use as Swimmer Delivery Vehicles. These submarines will be used for conducting underwater special operations by MARCOS. The project is worth ₹2,000 crore (equivalent to ₹32 billion or US$370 million in 2023). |

## Ships

This indicates that the project a Request For Information (RFI) has currently been issued for this project. The issue of RFI is not a commitment for procurement.

### Aircraft carriers

| Name | Picture | No. of Ships | Origin | Displacement | Status | Note |
| IAC-1 Class | | 2 | India | 45,000 tonnes | 1 in service 1 Planned | Indian Navy had been pushing for a 65,000 tonne carrier, but the demand has been put on hold due to expenses and technologies needed on board. So now Navy is considering another 45,000-tonne class carrier, same as INS Vikrant with more indigenous systems and better propulsions. |
| INS Vishal | | 1 | India | 65,000 - 75,000 tonnes | Planned | Estimated to be equipped with an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) CATOBAR system. Will have significant changes and greater size compare to INS Vikrant. Initially nuclear propulsion was planned, but this was later changed to an integrated electric propulsion system due to the complexities involved in developing a nuclear reactor with a capacity of 500 to 550 megawatts that would possibly take 15 to 20 years. Since the Indian navy has preferred the construction of the nuclear powered Project 75 Alpha and the conventionally powered Project 75I class submarines, INS Vishal will be seen as a replacement of the INS Vikramaditya. |

### Amphibious warfare ships

| Class | Picture | Type | No. of Ships | Origin | Displacement | Status | Note |
| Future Landing Platform Dock (LPD) | | Landing helicopter dock | 4 | India | 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes | 4 Planned | Indian Navy has released RFI for 4 LPDs to be made by Indian shipyards. Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) is expected. Ships will have 4×AK-630 with Electro Optical Fire control system, 8x Medium Machine Gun, 6×Heavy Machine Gun, Advanced towed decoy system, 16×SSM, 32×VL-SRSAM, 2×Heavy Lift Helicopters, 12×Special Ops Helicopters and 2×NSUAS etc. |
| High Speed Landing Craft | | Landing Craft | 6 | India | 285 tonnes | 6 Planned | In September 2017, Indian Navy issues a RFI to acquire six landing craft capable of supporting assault missions and transporting equipment, vehicles & troops. |

### Destroyers (8)

| Class | Picture | Type | No. of Ships | Origin | Displacement | Note |
| Project 18 class | | Stealth guided missile destroyer | 8 planned | India | 10,000 to 13,000 tonnes | A planned class of 8-10 Project 18 class destroyers, as a follow-on of Visakhapatnam class.Project 18 class is going to replace Rajput-class & Delhi-class Destroyers from Indian Navy. |

### Frigates (16)

| Class | Type | No. of Ships | Origin | Displacement | Note |
| Nilgiri class | Stealth guided missile frigate | 1 in service 6 Launched | India | 6,700 tonnes | Four ships will be constructed by Mazagon Dock while the remaining three by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers. |
| Talwar class Batch-III | Stealth guided missile frigate | 1 In service 2 Launched 1 Under Construction | Russia India | 4,035 tonnes | 4 more ships were ordered. Two of Batch 3 from Russia's Yantar Shipyard and another two of Batch 4 from Goa Shipyard. INS Tushil of Batch 3 commissioned. |
| Project 17B class | Stealth guided missile frigate | 7 planned | India | 8,000 tonnes | A deal for a class of around 7 Project 17B class frigates, as a follow-on of Nilgiri-class frigates, is expected to be cleared by MoD . The order is worth ₹70,000 crore (US$8.0 billion). |

### Corvettes

| Class | Type | No. of Ships | Origin | Displacement | Status | Note |
| Anti Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) | Corvette (ASW) | 16 | India | 700–950 tonnes | 12 Launched 4 Under construction | Designed for ASW roles in coastal waters. Eight vessels each constructed by GRSE and Cochin Shipyard, to be delivered between 2022 and 2026. |
| Next Generation Missile Vessels | Corvette (ASuW) | 6 | India | 1,437 tonnes | 1 Under Construction 5 on order | The contract for acquisition of six Next Generation Missile Vessels (NGMV) was signed with Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) at a cost of Rs 9,805 crore. The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from March 2027 . |
| Next generation corvette(NGC) | Corvette | 8 | India | 3,500 tonnes | 8 Planned | In 2016, the Ministry of Defence issued Request For Information (RFI) for seven next-generation Corvette under the "Buy Indian and Make Indian" category. Acceptance of necessity given by ministry of defence |

### Fast attack crafts

| Class | Picture | Type | No. of Ships | Origin | Displacement | Status | Note |
| New Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (NWJFAC) | | Fast Attack Craft | 31 | India | | Project approved | Follow on water jet fast interceptor craft. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the procurement on 3 December 2024. |

### Mine countermeasure vessels

| Class | Picture | Type | No. of Ships | Origin | Displacement | Status | Note |
| Mine Counter Measure Vessels (MCMV) | | Minesweeper | 12 | India | 2,800 Tons | 12 Planned | On 3 August 2023, the MoD released RFI for acquiring 12 minesweepers from Indian Shipyards. |

### Multi Purpose Vessel

| Class | Picture | Type | No. of Ships | Origin | Displacement | Status | Note |
| Samarthak-class | | Multi Purpose Vessel (MPV) | 2 | India | 3,750 tonnes | 2 Launched | Ministry of Defence signed a contract with Larsen & Toubro for acquisition of Two Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) for Indian Navy at cost of ₹887 crore (equivalent to ₹940 crore or US$110 million in 2023) on 25 March 2022. These vessels will be used for multi-role support functions such as maritime surveillance & patrol, launching/ recovery of torpedoes and operation of various types of aerial, surface and underwater targets for Gunnery/ ASW firing exercises. |
| Navy's Multi Purpose Vessel | | Multi Purpose Vessel (MPV) | 2 | India | | 2 Planned | |

### Patrol vessels

| Class | Picture | Type | No. of Ships | Origin | Displacement | Status | Note |
| NGOPV | | Offshore patrol vessel | 11 | India | 2,500 tonnes | 6 Under construction 5 on order | The contract for acquisition of 11 Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category was signed with Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) at a total cost of Rs 9,781 crore. The delivery of the ships is scheduled to commence from September 2026. |

### Replenishment ships

| Class | Picture | Type | No. of Ships | Origin | Displacement | Status | Note |
| HSL class | | Fleet replenishment oiler | 5 | India | 45,000 tonnes | 3 Under construction 2 on order | Approved in 2014. Contract signed in August 2023. All ships to be delivered between 2027 and 2031. |

### Survey vessels

| Class | Picture | Type | No. of Ships | Origin | Displacement | Status | Note |
| Sandhayak class | | Survey vessel | 4 | India | 3,300 tonnes | 2 in Service 2 Launched | In September 2017, GRSE won a bid for ₹2,500 crore (US$290 million). Contract signed in October 2018. |
| Next Generation survey Vessel | | Survey vessel | 5 | India | | Planned | Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), worth ₹3,300 crore (US$380 million), cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on 15 September 2023. |

### Miscellaneous

| Class | Type | No. of Ships | Origin | Displacement | Status | Note |
| Matangi | Unmanned surface vehicle | 12 | India | | Trials | Contract signed with Sagar Defence Engineering for armed autonomous boat swarms on 8 January 2023. Roles include high-speed interdiction; surveillance; constabulary operations; and Command, Control, Communications, Computers (C4) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR). Pre-delivery trials began in late October 2024 in Mumbai. A Matangi started a sea transit from Mumbai to Tuticorin (1,500 km (810 nmi)) in Autonomous mode, using the indigenous 'navigation & collision avoidance software'. |
| Nistar class | Diving support vessel | 2 | India | 9,350 tonnes | 2 Launched | In December 2017, Hindustan Shipyard won a bid to build two ships for ₹2,019 crore (US$230 million). Contract for the same was signed in September 2018. Keel laid for the first vessel in December 2019. Both the ships (Nistar & Nipun) have been launched on 22 September 2022. |
| L&T-class Cadet Training Ship | Training vessel | 3 | India | Unknown | 3 Under construction | Union Cabinet has accorded approval to sign a contract with Larsen & Toubro for acquisition of three Cadet Training Ships, at an overall cost of Rs 3,108.09 crore. The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from 2026. Keel of first ship laid on 9 February 2024. Steel cutting ceremony of third ship on 20 April 2024. |
| National Hospital Ship (NHS) | Hospital Ship | 1 | India | Unknown | Planned | One National Hospital Ship is proposed to be acquired. The anticipated delivery timelines for the first vessel is maximum of 48 months from the date of contract. |
| Diving support craft (DSC) | Diving support craft | 5 | India | 300 tonnes | 2 Launched 3 Under construction | A contract for five Diving Support Craft (DSC) has been signed by Indian Navy with M/s Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd, Kolkata on 12 Feb 21. |
| FIC-1 | Fast Interceptor Craft | 120 | India | | Project approved | Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the procurement on 3 December 2024. Among their many functions is the escort of high-value units, such as aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, and submarines for coastal defense. |
| Tugboat | Tugboat | 4 | India | | Under construction | 10-tonne bollard pull tugs being constructed at Hindustan Shipyard |
| | Tugboat | 3 | India | | 1 in service 2 Delivered | 25-tonne bollard pull tugs being constructed at Shoft Shipyard Pvt Ltd, Bharuch, Gujurat. |
| Bhishm class | Tugboat | 6 | India | | 3 Launched 1 Under Construction | 25-tonne bollard pull tugs being constructed at Titagarh Rail Systems, Kolkata. |
| IRS Class Barge | ACTCM / MCA Barges | 19 | India | | 17 Delivered 2 Under construction | The contract for building 11 × Ammunition Cum Torpedo Cum Missile (ACTCM) Barge was signed between MoD and M/s Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd, Thane on 05 Mar 2021. The contract for building 08 x Missile Cum Ammunition (MCA) Barge was signed between MoD and M/s SECON Engineering Projects Pvt Ltd, Visakhapatnam on 19 Feb 2021. All barges are numbered with LSAM. The only difference is naming for the contract for M/s Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd, and M/s SECON Engineering Projects Pvt Ltd. Both ACTCM / MCA have same dimensions. |

## Aircraft

| Type | Role | No. of airframes | Origin | Status | Note |
| Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) | Carrier-based multirole fighter | N/A | India | Design Phase | The first flight of the TEDBF is targeted for 2025–26 with the fighter expected to be inducted into the Navy by 2032. |
| Dassault Rafale | Carrier-based multirole fighter | 26 | France | Planned | The acquisition is a part of the Multi-Role Carrier Borne Fighters programme to acquire 57 fighter jets. The Dassault Rafale-M was chosen over the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Number was revised from 57 to 36 in mid-2020 and later to 26 by 2021-end. The deal shall be signed through the G2G process. The Rafale-M was selected for procurement in 2023. The Indian Navy aims to finalise the procurement of the Rafale-M by 2024-end. |
| HAL HJT-36 Sitara | Intermediate trainer aircraft | N/A | India | Planned | To replace HAL HJT-16 Kiran. |
| Naval Shipborne Unmanned Aerial System (NSUAS) | Unmanned Rotorcraft/Shipborne UAV | 40 | | Planned | Proposal to buy 10 NSUAS for around ₹ 1,300 crores cleared by the government in 2021. RFI to purchase total of 40 units released in 2023. |
| Multi Utility Long Endurance Drone (MULE) | Unmanned Rotorcraft/Shipborne UAV | | | Under development | Contract signed with Altair Infrasec for MULE RPA which will be a NSUAS class UAV. Primary Roles: C4, ISTAR, SIGNIT, COMINT and Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) operations for a Task Force. Secondary Roles: Anti-piracy, Anti-terrorist activities and assistance in Search and Rescue (SAR). Payloads: EO/IR, AIS, Maritime Patrol Radar, EW and communication relay with a capacity of >50 kg (110 lb). Endurance: >12 hours. |
| IAI-HAL NRUAV | Unmanned Rotorcraft/Shipborne UAV | | India Israel | Planned | |
| MQ-9B SeaGuardian | Unmanned combat aerial vehicle | 2 in service (on lease) 15 more on order. | United States | On order | The final deal was signed on 15 October 2024. |
| Dornier 228 | Anti-submarine warfare, Maritime patrol | 12 | Germany India | 6 in service 6 on order | These aircraft will be equipped with advanced sensors, glass cockpit, advanced surveillance radar, ELINT, optical sensors and networking features. |
| EADS C-295 | Anti-submarine warfare/ Maritime patrol | 9 | European Union India | Planned | Medium-range maritime reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft: The Indian Navy issued an RFP for six medium-range maritime reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft. The possible contenders were the ATR-72MP/ATR-42MP, the EADS C-295MPA/C-235MPA, the Dassault's Falcon 900MPA and the Embraer P-99A. The procurement number has been enhanced to 9 as per news reports in February 2012. The C-295 was eventually chosen. They will be equipped with advanced sensors, glass cockpit, advanced surveillance radar, ELINT, optical sensors and networking features. Ministry of Defence has given clearance for procurement on 16 February 2024. |
| Boeing P-8I Neptune | Reconnaissance, ASW, ASuW | 12 in serice 6 more planned | United States | More planned | |
| ShinMaywa US-2 | STOL Amphibious Aircraft | 12 | Japan | Planned | As of April 2018 Indian Navy intends to acquire 12 US-2 amphibian aircraft for conducting long-range search-and-rescue operations at cost of $1.65 billion. Two US-2 will be directly imported and remaining 10 will be assembled locally in India. In April 2018, Mahindra Defence signed an MoU with ShinMaywa Industries Ltd. to manufacture and assemble the aircraft, and set up MRO facility in India. |
| Sikorsky MH-60R Romeo | Multi-Role Helicopter | 24 | United States | 5 delivered 19 on order | The helicopters will replace the ageing Sea King helicopters. They are equipped with Mark 54 torpedoes and Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, along with precision-kill rockets. India signed a ₹15,157 crore (equivalent to ₹180 billion or US$2.0 billion in 2023) contract for the MH-60Rs in February 2020. |
| Naval Multi-Role Helicopter | Multi-Role Helicopter | 60 | India | Under development | Deck Based Multi Role Helicopter being developed to replace Sea King and augment MH-60R. |
| Naval Multi-Role Helicopter | Multi-Role Helicopter | 123 | India | Planned | Requirement issued to HAL |
| HAL Utility Helicopter-Marine | Utility helicopter | 111 | India | Under development | To replace HAL Chetak helicopters. |
| Boeing V-22 Osprey | Tiltrotor military transport aircraft | N/A | United States | Planned | V-22's airborne early warning and control variant may replace the short-range Kamov Ka-31. |