AA Edit | Indian Navy Gets an Upgrade

In the eyes of the common man, the navy may be the less glamorous of the defence forces, but the increasing role that the blue water force plays in defence posture as well as deterrence lends the Indian Navy far greater prominence these days even as it celebrates its annual Navy Day today.

In the tricky waters of the globe that are getting even more muddy with expansionist policies of nations pushing for greater control, the Indian Navy will have more strategic roles to play, especially with China expanding its nuclear submarine fleet and Pakistan being given Chinese-built conventional submarines that represents a collusive threat to India.

The Indian Navy will be stepping up more than a decisive notch as it awaits the imminent arrival of INS Aridhaman, now undergoing sea trials, which will allow the shift to an uninterrupted deterrence model with at least one submarine of three always available for patrolling when the others — INS Arihant or INS Arighaat — are out for refitting or away on training missions. And a fourth is in the pipeline too.

Given the tense geopolitics of confrontations and conflicts in today’s world and India just about moving on after Operation Sindoor in which the Navy too played its role in being stationing its ships close to Pakistan waters and forcing their navy to stay put, silent nuclear submarines providing the ability to carry out second strikes — India has a no first strike policy — in the unlikely event of a nuclear exchange become crucial to operations as well as deterrence.

After the events of April and May, Indian forces know that a heightened sense of alertness is essential even as the military brass are backing them with active planning for resources to enhance their defensive and offensive capabilities. The Navy will soon have a fourth nuclear-powered and ballistic missile carrier as well as nuclear-powered attack submarines and stealth submarines, all sourced from Russia, besides Rafales from France in the next two years.

It is illustrative of the tense times in the subcontinent that the focus should be on military preparedness. But with a coastline of 7,500 kilometres to protect, the Indian Navy’s task has always been a challenging one, with anti-piracy as well as humanitarian aid missions to handle. The symbol of maritime pride and strategic power is owed the rapid modernisation in terms of ballistic missile capabilities and supporting air power that it is getting.