Indian Navy Is Recognised As A Predominant Force In Indian Ocean And Beyond

NAVY CHIEF ADMIRAL SUNIL LANBA, PVSM, AVSM, ADC tells Geopolitics how the Indian Navy is preparing itself to be a force of the future.

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There has been a realisation that our Navy has grown to be an effective force, which can ensure security of our maritime borders. Could you elaborate on this steady and silent growth of our Navy’s strengths and effectiveness to meet national security requirements?

Yes, the Indian Navy has, indeed, come a long way since its inception. We were a small force of a little over 30 vessels at independence. Today, the size of our Navy has grown to 139 ships and submarines and 224 aircraft. But it is not just the numbers that count. Our worthy predecessors kept their focus on developing capabilities required for modern naval warfare. We owe it to their vision that today the Indian Navy is a multi-dimensional force capable of operating across the full spectrum of naval warfare – not just surface, subsurface and air, but also cyber and Space. Through this journey over the last 70 years, self-reliance has been the foremost guiding principle of the Indian Navy. It is a matter of significant achievement that our focus on indigenous warship design and construction has transformed the Indian Navy from being a ‘Buyer’s Navy’ to a ‘Builder’s Navy’. All 34 ongoing construction projects for naval platforms are being progressed in Indian shipyards. Let us also appreciate that the Navy is not known only by the platforms it has in its inventory. Equally important are the men and women behind these formidable machines and the whole ecosystem of training, maintenance and logistics support. The Indian Navy has taken conscious steps to ensure the highest standards in all these aspects in order to maintain a highly combat worthy force. We remain conscious of the expectations of the nation from its maritime military force and would continue to strive for excellence to play our role effectively in the overall national security construct.