Indian Navy to add 15 warships, sharpen anti-submarine capabilities

New Delhi: The Indian Navy is set to induct 15 warships this year aiming to expand its operational footprint across the Indian Ocean region and beyond, Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff said on Friday, while commissioning the new anti-submarine warfare vessel INS Anjadip.

The upcoming warships will include four Nilgiri class guided missile frigates, more shallow water anti-submarine warfare craft and a diving support vessel for the west coast to be named as INS Nipun.

“In 2025, the Indian Navy commissioned 12 warships and one submarine. This momentum continues with plans to induct about 15 more ships in 2026, setting an unprecedented benchmark and marking the highest rate of induction in our history,” Admiral Tripathi said at the commissioning ceremony in Chennai.

“Beyond the numbers, our focus has been on sharpening critical war-fighting capabilities - particularly in anti-submarine and under-sea warfare. The platforms inducted over the past year are equipped with highly advanced and sophisticated ASW capabilities.”

The navy chief’s comments come ahead of Pakistan inducting the first of its eight Hangor class diesel-electric submarines built under a China-Pakistan cooperation programme. The first boat is likely to enter the service by mid 2026 and all of them are to be commissioned by 2028 by the Pakistan Navy.

The Indian Navy, on the other hand, is acquiring 16 anti-submarine warfare vessels being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). The first three from the GRSE – INS Arnala, Androth and Anjadip – are in service whereas INS Mahe – the first one made by CSL – was commissioned in November 2025.

Sources said all the 16 ASW vessels would be commissioned between 2026 and 2028. The remaining four Nilgiri-class frigates are also likely to be inducted in 2026 beginning with INS Taragiri that will be commissioned on March 14 at Visakhapatnam.

Admiral Tripathi said the Red Sea crisis showed how disruption at a single choke point could ripple across continents as freight rates on key Asia–Europe routes surged - in some cases by as much as 300-350% — impacting supply chains and driving up food and fuel costs.

“The ongoing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz - a vital global energy corridor - have also reflected this reality. Even a precautionary closure of the strait for live-fire exercises last week, led to Brent crude prices rising by about 4.4 % in a single trading session, reaching their highest level in weeks,” he said.

In such a complex and sensitive security environment, the Indian Navy deployment in the Red Sea since October 2023, enabled the safe transit of nearly 400 merchant vessels, carrying approximately 16.5 million metric tonnes of oil and cargo, worth over 7 billion US dollars bound for India.