Building a Navy for a New Era

India is making one of the largest naval investments in its modern history, with the goal of expanding its fleet beyond 200 warships by 2035. The effort comes as China continues to grow the world’s largest navy and Pakistan strengthens its own fleet with advanced Chinese built submarines.

Rather than attempting to match China ship for ship, India is building a navy capable of protecting its own waters, securing vital trade routes, and maintaining a strong deterrent across the Indian Ocean. That objective also aligns closely with American strategic interests. A stronger Indian Navy forces China to devote greater attention and resources to the Indian Ocean while giving the United States a capable regional partner that can help preserve stability without requiring direct American intervention.

China and Pakistan Are Driving India’s Naval Expansion

The urgency behind India’s naval modernization is easy to understand. China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy now operates more than 370 warships and continues expanding its presence throughout the Indo-Pacific. Beijing has steadily increased its activities in the Indian Ocean through submarine deployments, survey vessels, and growing access to overseas ports.

At the same time, Pakistan is adding eight advanced Chinese built Hangor class attack submarines under a deal worth as much as $5 billion. Analysts believe these submarines will significantly improve Pakistan’s underwater capabilities while strengthening military cooperation between Islamabad and Beijing.

These developments have convinced Indian planners that maintaining naval superiority in their own region will require substantially more capable warships, submarines, and support vessels.

Former Rear Admiral Sanjay Misra said India now needs “at least two highly mobile, self contained fleets on permanent standby,” a posture that requires a much larger fleet than India operates today.

A Navy That Is Growing Rapidly

India’s navy currently operates roughly 150 ships, including about 135 frontline combatants such as frigates, destroyers, and submarines. Nearly 50 additional vessels are already under construction. Analysts believe the goal of reaching a 200 ship navy by 2035 is realistic if current production continues.

The pace has accelerated dramatically. According to Indian naval officials, a new domestically built warship now enters service roughly every six weeks, with five indigenous vessels commissioned during the past month and a half alone.

Recent additions include the stealth frigate INS Mahendragiri and the anti submarine warfare vessel INS Malvan. Mahendragiri is the sixth Project 17A Nilgiri class frigate and was designed by the Indian Navy’s own Warship Design Bureau. Malvan is one of sixteen new shallow water anti submarine craft specifically intended to hunt submarines operating near India’s coastline.

Atmanirbharta Means Strategic Independence

A major reason India believes it can reach 200 ships is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy of atmanirbharta, which means self reliance.

The strategy seeks to eliminate India’s dependence on foreign suppliers for critical defense equipment by developing domestic industries capable of designing, building, and supporting modern warships.

The Indian Naval Indigenisation Plan organizes this effort around three major areas known as “Float,” “Move,” and “Fight.”

“Float” covers ship hulls and structural components.

“Move” focuses on propulsion systems.

“Fight” includes combat management systems, weapons, sensors, and other battlefield technologies.

The program has already made substantial progress. More than 90 percent of hull systems have been indigenized, approximately 60 percent of propulsion systems are now produced domestically, and development continues on a growing share of advanced combat systems. More than 100 domestically designed warships have already entered service.

India’s long term objective is complete self reliance in naval shipbuilding by 2047.

Challenges Still Remain

Despite the progress, India still faces significant obstacles.

Defense analysts note that India continues to rely on imported specialty steel, advanced sensors, propulsion technologies, and certain weapons systems. Domestic shipyards also face infrastructure limitations, supply chain bottlenecks, and shortages of highly skilled workers.

Misra identified infrastructure, skilled manpower, and advanced technologies such as sensors, weapons, and power generation as the country’s primary weaknesses.

Even so, he remains optimistic.

“We have made considerable headway in the recent past and are certain that we would be home to many such niche technologies in the not so distant future,” he said.

India also does not view self reliance as isolation. Instead, officials support selective partnerships with countries including Japan, France, Israel, Russia, and the United States for technology transfers while ensuring that the ships themselves are largely designed and built inside India. Recent agreements with Japan on advanced stealth mast technology illustrate that balanced approach.

Protecting the Lifeline of India’s Economy

One reason India places such importance on naval power is the country’s dependence on maritime trade.

According to the Indian Navy, roughly 90 percent of India’s trade and about 80 percent of its critical freight move through sea lanes. Protecting those routes is therefore not simply a military objective but an economic necessity.

The Navy also plays a central role in anti piracy patrols, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and maintaining security across the Indian Ocean Region.

Future investments will include unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, advanced sensors, and improved maritime surveillance to strengthen India’s ability to monitor and defend its surrounding waters.

A Stronger India Benefits Regional Stability

India’s 200 ship goal is not about preparing for an invasion of China. China’s navy remains significantly larger and continues expanding at a remarkable pace.

Instead, India’s objective is to build a fleet capable of defending its own coastline, securing vital shipping lanes, deterring Chinese and Pakistani naval pressure, and maintaining control throughout the Indian Ocean.

That objective benefits more than India. A stronger Indian Navy provides an additional democratic counterweight to China’s expanding maritime influence while allowing the United States to share responsibility for maintaining stability across one of the world’s most important waterways.

If India successfully reaches its 2035 goal while continuing to strengthen its domestic defense industry through atmanirbharta, it will field a larger, more technologically capable, and more strategically independent navy that is well positioned to defend its own region while contributing to a more stable Indo-Pacific.