Indian Navy Launches 8 Warships In 2025, Plans 2 More Early Next Year
“Two more Taragiri (Nilgiri-class stealth frigate) and Anjadip (ASW shallow water craft) will join by January 2026, strengthening underwater warfare, surface strike, and rescue capability, all with indigenous weapons and sensors": Vice Admiral
VISAKHAPATNAM: Indian Navy marked 2025 with launching of eight new warships at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) in 2025. It will cap the new-year adding two additional vessels to its fleet in January 2026, ENC Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice Admiral Sanjay Bhalla disclosed at a press conference marking Navy Day Celebrations aboard the indigenous warships INS Himgiri and INS Mumbai on Wednesday.
Of the eight ships commissioned this year (2025), six joined the Eastern Naval Command, including Nilgiri-class stealth frigates INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri, anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft INS Arnala and INS Androth, and Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV)-supporting units.
“Two more Taragiri (Nilgiri-class stealth frigate) and Anjadip (ASW shallow water craft) will join by January 2026, strengthening underwater warfare, surface strike, and rescue capability, all with indigenous weapons and sensors," the Vice Admiral said.
The theme for Navy Day 2025 is – Indian Navy: Combat Ready, Cohesive, Aatmanirbhar—Safeguarding Seas for a Viksit and Samriddha Bharat, highlighting modernisation, readiness, self-reliance and maritime security.
Sanjay Bhalla underlined that India is quietly entering the big leagues with 51 warships under construction, all in Indian yards, placing the country among only six nations capable of building both aircraft carriers and nuclear ballistic submarines.
He spoke about Indian Navy's international engagement during 2025, including key exercises MALABAR-25 with the USA, Japan, and Australia, La Perouse-25 with France off Indonesia, LIMA-25 with approximately 38 countries in Malaysia and bilateral exercises like SIMBEX-25 (Singapore), SLINEX-25 (Sri Lanka), INDRA-25 (Russia), and INMEX-25 (Myanmar).
The Vice Admiral revealed Indian Navy's operational success against Pakistan, disclosing "INS Vikrant-led Carrier Battle Group's offensive deployment in the northern Arabian Sea during Operation Sindoor pushed Pakistan's Navy close to its harbour, reportedly impacting its economy."
He spoke about the Navy's humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, stating, "The Navy deployed INS Nirdeshak, Satpura, Savitri and Gharial in Myanmar after the earthquake on March 28, INS Vikrant, Himgiri, and Udayagiri in Sri Lanka during Cyclone Ditwa for relief delivery and rescue, apart from naval helicopters to contain a major refinery fire at East India Petroleum Chemicals in Visakhapatnam."
Sanjay Bhalla said throughout the year, they stepped up coastal defence through coordinated deployments and multi-stakeholder exercises like Sea Vigil, Sagar Kavach, Op Sentinel, Op Prasthan, and Op Sajag.
He announced a landmark event at Visakhapatnam during the New Year, with the city hosting the largest maritime convergence ever in February 2026 – International Fleet Review, MILAN, and the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium Conclave of Chiefs. "Out of 137 nations invited, 61 have confirmed participation. 23 foreign warships, two aircraft, and over a hundred delegates are expected," he stated.
The Vice Admiral spoke about the Navy's environmental and community initiatives, including planting of 97,000 saplings, dispersing a crore of seed balls and extensive coastal clean-ups. He said the Navy Week events will feature operational demonstrations in Thiruvananthapuram and Visakhapatnam, band concerts, veteran interactions, ship visits for children, and the Vizag Navy Marathon on December 14.
