Future of the Indian Navy

Fleet modernisation and expansion

As of 22 September 2025, 54 ships of the Indian Navy are under construction in various stages (early fabrication to sea trials) with 10 ships expected to be commissioned this year itself and the rest scheduled to enter service by 2030.^[6] These contracts have a combined value of around ₹99,500 crore (US$11 billion).^[7] The ships are being constructed in India across 6 shipyard,^[2] while the last Indian warship of foreign origin, INS Tamal, from Russia was commissioned in July 2025.^[8][9] The Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for 74 additional warships (65 surface ships and 9 submarines),^[10] worth ₹2.35 lakh crore (US$25 billion), have been accorded by the Defence Ministry's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), which is chaired by the Defence Minister. Further, multiple programmes are yet to be cleared by the Ministry. This includes the first phase of four 10,000 tonnes next-generation destroyers and an aircraft carrier.^[7]

By 31 October 2025, the Navy commissioned 10 warships and a submarine while four more ships are scheduled to be delivered by December-end. Moreover, the Navy expects the delivery of 19 and 13 ships in 2026 and 2027, respectively.^[11] The service was inducting one warship at an average interval of 40 days.^[12]

The Navy is expected to have a fleet of 150–160 warships by 2030,^[2] which will further expand to over 200 naval vessels by 2035. The Navy's force level could reach up to 230 surface combatants and submarines by 2037 against today's 140 ships including 17 diesel-electric submarines and 2 nuclear ballistic missile submarines.^[7] In April 2025, the Indian Navy also signed a contract to procure 26 Dassault Rafale M fighter aircraft for its aircraft carriers to enhance its Naval Air Arm, with deliveries scheduled to be completed by 2030.^[13][14]

The increasing interest of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy in the Indian Ocean region^[15] has led the Indian Navy to invest more in anti-submarine ships, such as the Kamorta-class corvette, long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft such as the Boeing P-8I Neptune and ships such as the Saryu-class patrol vessel^[16] and unmanned aerial vehicles such as the IAI Heron Mk2.^[17][18] However the lack of a strong submarine fleet has diminished its capabilities to some extent.^[19] Post-Chinese intrusions into Ladakh in 2020, it has been announced that the Indian Navy plans to upgrade the military facilities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on the eastern seaboard as well as Lakshadweep on the western seaboard, with the aim of having a network of island airbases in both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal which provides an infrastructure which will guarantee freedom of navigation and overflight to all Indian territories.^[20]

On 5 September 2025, the Ministry of Defence published the Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap 2025. The document unveiled plans for the Indian Navy to operate at least 10 nuclear-propelled surface ships including an aircraft carrier, INS Vishal.^[21][22]

Indigenisation

As for indigenisation, the Indian Navy is following the "Roll-on Plan for 2023-26" while the progress is being monitored by Centre for Indigenisation & Self Reliance (CISR) at Coimbatore. The CISR has two Indigenisation Units (IUs) with one at Visakhapatnam, whose area of responsibility includes the Eastern Naval Command & Andaman and Nicobar Command and the other at Mumbai to supervise Western Naval Command. Three aspects are recognised for evaluating the indigenous content of a ship which includes Float (Hull and its related fittings and components), Move (Engines, Complete propulsions systems, etc.) and Fight (Sensor suites and Weapon systems) categories. As of October 2024, 90%, 60% and 50% of the respective categories have been indigenised. The Navy also plans to increase the indigenous content on already-commissioned frontline warships like INS Vikramaditya, Kalvari-class submarine, Talwar-class frigate and Deepak-class fleet tanker.^[23] The Indian Navy is also planning to acquire the HAL TEDBF, an indigenous fighter aircraft currently under development, for its aircraft carriers in the 2030s.^[24]

On 1 July 2025, the Indian Navy commissioned its last warship of foreign origin, INS Tamal, in Russia. All the following warships will be constructed indigenously by Indian shipyards.^[9][8] Additionally, the Navy also plans a fleet of 13 destroyers and 20 frigates equipped with over 300 BrahMos Supersonic cruise missiles combined by 2030. While each of the new destroyers are equipped with 16 BrahMos launchers each, except for four of six Delhi class and Rajput-class destroyer which are equipped with eight BrahMos launchers each and INS Rana (D52) and INS Mysore (D60), each of the 20 frigates will be equipped with eight BrahMos launchers. Meanwhile, the latter two of the Talwar-class frigates belonging to the first batch are being upgraded with BrahMos systems.^[25]

Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBN)

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Boats	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Arihant class		Ballistic missile submarine (SSBN)	4[26]	India	Planned displacement of 7,000 tonnes[27] for S4 & S4* vessels[28]	3 Active[29] 1 Sea trials underway[30]	Second flight of 2 submarines with eight VLS of SLBMs as against four VLS on the first two submarines.[31] Due to development delays of S5-class, another submarine is planned under this class.[32]
S5 class		Ballistic missile submarine (SSBN)	4-6	India	13,500 tonnes	Under construction	In December 2025, it was reported that construction of the first two S5 SSBNs had commmenced with four of the submarines expected to be commissioned by late 2030s.[33][34][35]

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Nuclear Attack Submarines (SSN)

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Boats	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Chakra III (Akula-class)		Nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN)	1	Russia	12,770–13,800 tons	Under construction	On 7 March 2019, India and Russia signed a $3 billion deal for the lease of another Akula-class submarine for 10 years. The submarine, dubbed Chakra III, was expected to be delivered in 2025,[36][37] but was later delayed to 2028.[38][39]
Project 77		Nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN)	6[40]	India	10,000 tonnes[40]	2 Approved[40]	The Government of India had approved the construction of six such submarines in February 2015.[citation needed] These submarines will be designed by the Indian Navy's Warship Design Bureau and indigenously built in the Shipbuilding Centre at Visakhapatnam. The Cabinet Committee on Security cleared the construction of two of these submarines in October 2024.[41][40]

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Conventional Submarines (SSK)

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Boats	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Kalvari class		Attack submarine	3	India  France	1,800 tonnes	Planned	Contract for 3 more submarines of the Kalvari class submarines under consideration,[42][43] however it is likely to be scrapped in favor of modified Type 214 submarines under P-75I.[44]
Project 75I class		Attack submarine	6	India  Germany	3,000 – 4,000 tonnes	6 Approved	Cost negotiations underway;[45] to be designed by MDL-TKMS based on enlarged Type 214.[46]
Project 76 class		Attack submarine	12	India	3,000 tonnes	Planned	Project cleared by defence ministry in June 2024. Feasibility study conducted by DRDO.[47] Approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) due as if February 2025.[48]

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Others

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Boats	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Swimmer Delivery Vehicle		Midget submarine	10	India	150 tonnes	Planned	Indian Navy will acquire at least 10 midget submarines for use as Swimmer Delivery Vehicles. These submarines will be used for conducting underwater special operations by MARCOS.[49] The project is worth ₹2,000 crore (equivalent to ₹32 billion or US$340 million in 2023).[50]
Extra Large Unmanned Underwater Vessel		Unmanned underwater vehicle	12[51]	India	>100 tonnes	Planned	Ministry of Defence cleared ₹2,500 crore (US$260 million) project for development and procurement of XLUUVs under Make-1 category in September 2024. Shall be capable of ISR, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and mine warfare (mine laying and mine clearing).[52][53] Construction of Jalkapi XLUUV by Krishna Defence and Allied Industries Ltd (KDAIL) in Halol, Gujarat began with the plate-cutting ceremony on 10 June 2025.[54]

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Aircraft carriers

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Name	Picture	No. of Ships	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Vikrant-class		1	India	45,000 tonnes	Planned	Indian Navy had been pushing for a 65,000 tonne carrier, but the demand has been put on hold due to expenses and technologies needed on board. So now Navy is considering another 45,000-tonne class carrier, same as INS Vikrant, but with more indigenous systems and better propulsions.[citation needed]
INS Vishal		1	India	75,000 tonnes	Planned	The ship will have a displacement of 75,000 tonnes and carry 54 fighters, 4 fixed-wing AEW&C aircraft, 8-10 helicopters & UAVs.[55][56] It is also expected to be equipped with 2 electromagnetic catapult-based CATOBAR system.[57][58] However, the propulsion system, whether nuclear-powered[59] or powered by integrated electric propulsion system,[60][61] is still being chalked out. Though, Navy confirmed its plans to operate a nuclear aircraft carrier in 2025.[21][22]

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Amphibious warfare ships

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Ships	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Future Landing Platform Dock (LPD)		Landing helicopter dock	4	India	32,000 tonnes[62]	4 Approved	Indian Navy has released RFI for 4 LPDs to be made by Indian shipyards. Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) is expected. Ships will have 4×AK-630 with Electro Optical Fire control system, 8x Medium Machine Gun, 6×Heavy Machine Gun, Advanced towed decoy system, 16×SSM, 32×VL-SRSAM, 2×Heavy Lift Helicopters, 12×Special Ops Helicopters , 2×NSUAS or Fixed-Wing Naval Drones etc.[63] Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) granted on Oct 23, 2025.[64] As per AoN, all 4 LPDs are to have a displacement of more than 32,000 tonnes.[62]
High Speed Landing Craft		Landing Craft	6	India	285 tonnes	Planned	In September 2017, the Navy issued a RFI to acquire six landing craft capable of supporting assault missions and transporting equipment, vehicles & troops.[65][66]

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Destroyers (DDG)

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Ships	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Project 18 class		Stealth guided missile destroyer	10-12	India	13,000 to 14,000 tonnes	Planned	A planned class of 10-12 Project 18 class destroyers, as a follow-on of Visakhapatnam class.[67][68][69]

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Frigates (FFG)

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Ships	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Nilgiri-class		Stealth guided missile frigate	7	India	6,670 tonnes	4 Active 2 Delivered 1 launched	Out of the 3 remaining ships, one is being constructed by Mazagon Dock and two by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers each.
Talwar-class		Stealth guided missile frigate	2	India	4,035 tonnes	8 Active 2 Launched	The two pending vessels are from the ship class's Batch 4 and are being constructed by Goa Shipyard.[70][71][72]
Project 17B-class		Stealth guided missile frigate	7–8	India	8,000 tonnes	Planned[73]	The project, worth ₹70,000 crore (US$7.4 billion), was cleared by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).[74][75] Request for Proposal expected soon as of 8 July 2025.[76]

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Corvettes

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Ships	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Anti Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft		Corvette (ASW)	16	India	890–1,490 tonnes	4 Active 2 Delivered 8 Launched 2 Under Construction	Designed for ASW roles in coastal waters. Out of the pending ships of this class, seven are being constructed by GRSE (Arnala sub-class) and eight by Cochin Shipyard (Mahe sub-class).[77][78][79][80]
Next Generation Missile Vessels		Corvette (ASuW)	6	India	1,437 tonnes	1 under construction 5 planned	The contract for acquisition of six Next Generation Missile Vessels (NGMV) was signed with Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) at a cost of Rs 9,805 crore. The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from March 2027 .[81]
Next generation corvette		Corvette	8	India	3,500 tonnes	Planned	In May 2025, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers secured the lowest bidder (L1) position for constructing five Next Generation Corvettes (NGC) for the Indian Navy, under a ₹36,000 crore (US$4.3 billion) program approved by the Defence Acquisition Council. The contract for GRSE, valued at over ₹25,000 crore (US$3.0 billion), covers five of the eight NGCs, with the remaining three to be built by the second-lowest bidder (L2) at the same unit cost.[82]

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Mine countermeasure vessels

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Ships	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Mine Counter Measure Vessels (MCMV)		Minesweeper	12	India	2,800 Tons	Planned	On 3 July 2025, the Defence Acquisition Council authorised the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the project.[83][84]

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Multi Purpose Vessel

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Ships	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Samarthak-class		Multi Purpose Vessel (MPV)	2	India	3,750 tonnes	2 Launched	On 25 March 2022, the Ministry of Defence signed a contract with Larsen & Toubro for acquisition of Two Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) to be used for multi-role support functions such as maritime surveillance & patrol, launching/ recovery of torpedoes and operation of various types of aerial, surface and underwater targets for Gunnery/ ASW firing exercises at a cost of ₹887 crore (equivalent to ₹940 crore or US$99 million in 2023).[85][86]
Next Generation Multi-Purpose Vessels		Multi Purpose Vessel (MPV)	2	India		2 Planned	Request for Proposal expected soon as of 8 July 2025.[76]

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Patrol vessels

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Ships	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Next-Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel		Offshore patrol vessel	11	India	2,500 tonnes	1 launched 7 under construction 3 approved[87][88][89]	The contract for acquisition of 11 Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category was signed with Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) at a total cost of Rs 9,781 crore. The delivery of the ships is scheduled to commence from September 2026.[81][89]
New Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (NWJFAC)		Fast attack craft	31	India	325 tonnes	Planned	Follow on water jet fast interceptor craft. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) granted an Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the procurement of 31 NWJFACs on 3rd December 2024.[90][91][92]
FIC-1		Fast Interceptor Craft	120	India		Planned	DAC approved the acquisition on 3 December 2024. Functions includes escort of high-value units, such as aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, and submarines for coastal defence.[90][91][92] To be equipped with DRDO-developed Indigenous Waterjet Propulsion System.[93]
Fast Patrol Boats		Fast patrol boat	6	India		Tender issued	The Request for Proposal (RFP), has been issued and bidding is open between 21 October 2025 and 13 January 2026. The FPBs, with indigenous content of >60%, will be employed for surveillance and reconnaissance roles by small insertion teams.[94]

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Replenishment ships

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Ships	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
HSL class		Fleet replenishment oiler	5	India	45,000 tonnes	4 under construction, 1 planned	Approved in 2014.[95][96] Contract signed in August 2023. All ships to be delivered between 2027[97] and 2031.[98]

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Survey vessels

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Ships	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Next Generation survey Vessel		Survey vessel	6	India		Planned	Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), worth ₹3,300 crore (US$350 million), cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on 15 September 2023.[99][100]Cochin Shipyard was reported to be the lowest bidder for six ships at a cost of ₹6,000 crore (US$630 million), lower than L&T's bid on 11 February 2026.[101]

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Miscellaneous

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Class	Picture	Type	No. of Ships	Origin	Displacement	Status	Note
Matangi		Unmanned surface vehicle	12	India		Under production.[102]	Contract: Contract signed with Sagar Defence Engineering for 12 Autonomous Weaponized Boat Swarms on 8 January 2023.[103][104] The Matangi was developed under a collaborative effort between Sagar Defence and Weapons and Electronics Systems Engineering Establishment (WESEE) of the Indian Navy.[105] The programme was executed under the joint support of Indian Navy’s NIIO, TDAC and the iDEX initiative under the DIO.[106] Sea trials: Pre-delivery trials began in late October 2024 in Mumbai.[107] A Matangi started a 850 nmi (1,570 km) sea transit, Sagarmala Parikrama, from Mumbai to Tuticorin in Autonomous mode, using the indigenous 'navigation & collision avoidance software'. The vessel was flagged off on 29 October 2024.[108] The vessel travelled 350 nmi (650 km) to reach Karwar on 30 October completing the first leg.[109][110] The second leg was 320 nmi (590 km) long to reach Kochi on 31 October.[111] On 5 November, the vessel finally reached Tuticorin's V. O. Chidambaranar Port.[106][105] Delivery: On 30 January 2026, Sagar Defence has dispatched the first batch of two Autonomous Weaponized Boat Swarms from its Pune facility. The boats will be deployed on the west coast.[102] Specifications: [102] Armament: 12.7 mm machine guns, fitted for but not with short-range missiles and loitering munitions. Capacity: 14 personnel (special missions) Capabilities: Operates in GPS-denied and network-centric warfare environments. Range: 400 nmi (740 km) Endurance: >2 days Roles: High-speed interdiction; surveillance; constabulary operations; and Command, Control, Communications, Computers (C4) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR).[103]
Compact Autonomous Surface Craft		Unmanned surface vehicle	—N/a	India	—N/a	Cleared by the MoD	The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared the acquisition of these vessels on 5 August 2025. The vessels will be used in ASW roles to detect, classify and neutralise threats.[112][113]BEL and WESEE of the Indian Navy has developed the A2NCS software suite for USVs. The software has been integrated onto an in-service fast interceptor boat and has been deployed for mine countermeasure roles and combat exercises.[114]
Nistar class		Diving support vessel	2	India	9,350 tonnes[115]	1 Active 1 Launched	In December 2017, Hindustan Shipyard won a bid to build two ships for ₹2,019 crore (US$210 million). Contract for the same was signed in September 2018. Keel laid for the first vessel in December 2019. Both the ships (Nistar & Nipun) have been launched on 22 September 2022.[116][117][118]
Krishna class		Training ship	3	India	4,700 tonnes	Under construction (1 launched, 2 keels laid)[119]	Union Cabinet has accorded approval to sign a contract with Larsen & Toubro for acquisition of three Cadet Training Ships, at an overall cost of Rs 3,108.09 crore. The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from 2026.[120]
National Hospital Ship (NHS)		Hospital Ship	1	India	Unknown	Planned	One National Hospital Ship is proposed to be acquired. The anticipated delivery timelines for the first vessel is maximum of 48 months from the date of contract.[121]
Diving support craft (DSC)		Diving support craft	5	India	380 tonnes[122]	1 Active[123] 2 launched 2 under construction [124]	A contract for five Diving Support Craft (DSC) has been signed by Indian Navy with M/s Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd, Kolkata on 12 Feb 21.[125]
Bottom Opening Non-Propelled Barges		Barge	3	India	200 tonnes	Under Construction	Order placed on 16 January 2025, with M/s Suryadipta Projects Private Limited, Thane for the development and delivery of the barges.[126][127]
Self Propelled Fuel Barges		Fuel Barge	4	India	500 tonnes	Under construction	Contract signed with M/s Shoft Shipyard Private Limited, Thane on 2 March 2026. The primary role of these barges will be replenishment of fuel to ships and submarines at harbours and dockyards.[128]
Bhishm class		Tugboat	6	India		6 Launched 2 Inducted	25-tonne bollard pull tugs being constructed at Titagarh Rail Systems, Kolkata.[129]
HSL-class			4			4 Under construction[needs update]	10-tonne bollard pull tugs being constructed at Hindustan Shipyard[130][131]

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