Military Navy

Of the Indian Navy’s 55,000 personnel 7,000 are part of the naval aviation arm and 1,200 are Marines. It also has a reserve capability of 55,000 personnel. Although significantly smaller than the other branches of the Indian armed forces, the Navy is sizeable and well-equipped, a reflection of India’s focus on regional power projection. It has 16 tactical patrol submarines; 58 principal surface combatant vessels, including one aircraft carrier equipped with Sea Harrier aircraft and Sea King helicopters, eight destroyers, 24 frigates and 25 corvettes all equipped with surface-to-surface, surface-toair missiles and anti-submarine torpedoes; 19 patrol and coastal combatant vessels, 14 mine warfare and countermeasures vessels; 16 amphibious vessels and 27 logistics and support vessels.363 The Fleet Air Arm has 34 combat capable aircraft largely consisting of the Sea Harrier in a fighter ground attack role and a range of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft for maritime reconnaissance, search and rescue, transport and anti-submarine warfare, including the Sea King helicopter.

Fleet HQ is based at New Delhi, while naval commands are also located at Mumbai(Western Command), Vishakhapatnam (Eastern Command) and Kochi (Southern Command). The naval aviation HQ is based at Arakonam, while the Marines also have a joint command HQ based at Port Blair on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.

The Indian Navy has embarked upon an ambitious procurement programme in the last few years with the intention of modernising its capabilities. In the last year alone India has ordered three modified Krivak III frigates from Russia, in a deal worth US$1.1 billion, and purchased an amphibious transport dock-class vessel, along with four landing craft from the US in a deal worth US$48 million.

Although India’s focus for the present is on regional power projection, its naval forces have the potential to provide an expeditionary capability, should the Indian Government’s strategic priorities change. The only capability gap that may require addressing in this circumstance would be the procurement of an additional aircraft carrier.