Naval News – India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved multiple acquisition proposals of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, including new MPAs, sonars, torpedoes and support packages for MH-60R.

USNI News – The Indian Navy deployed two carrier battle groups to the Bay of Bengal for New Delhi’s multinational naval drill Exercise Milan 2024.

Naval Today – The Indian Navy is all set to commission its latest survey vessel Sandhayak, at Naval Dockyard, Vizag on February 3.

(Thanks to Alain)

USNI News – The State Department greenlit a potential $3.9 billion deal of General Atomics MQ-9B drones to India today, marking the latest move between Washington and New Delhi as the two strengthen their defense and security cooperation.

National Interest – True to its tradition of nonalignment, India has declined to join the U.S.-led effort to keep open shipping lanes in the Red Sea, where Houthi rebels have pummeled merchant traffic indiscriminately with drones and antiship missiles. At the same time, though, New Delhi has dispatched ships of war to the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden to protect Indian-flagged merchantmen while succoring ships of any flag that suffer damage from Houthi strikes. Ten Indian Navy warships now patrol waters to the subcontinent’s west. 

BBC – Indian naval forces have rescued two hijacked vessels off Somalia’s coast as fears grow over a possible resurgence in piracy in the area.

USNI News – Indian Navy commandos secured the hijacked Liberian-flagged MV Lila Norfolk last week after a 24-hour confrontation off the Somali Coast in the Arabian Sea. This swift response comes as New Delhi reinforces its presence in the area, surging ships and aircraft to deter attacks on international shipping in the Western Indian Ocean Region.

BBC – India has deployed its navy to aid the crew of a ship that was hijacked off Somalia’s coast.

VOA – India’s navy said it is deploying three warships and reconnaissance aircraft in the Arabian Sea to “maintain a deterrent presence” after a string of recent shipping attacks.

Naval News – India has multiple anti-ship and land attack missiles under development to cater to the diverse needs of the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force (IAF). Here is an overview of these on-going programs.

ABP – The Indian Navy’s submarine capability projection for 2030 doesn’t look promising. India requires more submarines to meet the deepening underwater challenge from the rival navies. 

(Thanks to Alain)

War Zone – The retirement of the Indian Navy’s Il-38SD May brings to an end an illustrious epoch spent operating Soviet-made submarine hunters.

Naval News – Indian Navy’s Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar publicly affirmed the Navy’s interest in placing a repeat order for the Vikrant type aircraft carrier. More MPAs are also on the horizon, with Boeing making efforts to revive the reportedly shelved plan to procure six additional P-8I long range MPAs even as DRDO develops medium range MPAs based on the Airbus C-295. 

Naval Technology – The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) will launch the final Shivalik-class frigate, the Mahendragiri, on 1 September, concluding all of the launches under Project 17A, a seven ship programme for the Indian Navy.

(Thanks to Alain)

Eurasia Review – Sino-Indian competition has been one of the defining features of the Bay of Bengal’s strategic resurgence in recent years, as India tries to retain its prominence as a resident power, in the face of China’s deepening footprint in the region. In a future riddled with energy uncertainty, the lure of the Bay is undeniable for Beijing, as not only is the maritime space home to a vast repository of hydrocarbons, but it is also traversed by important sea lanes of communication, that are used to ferry critical energy imports from the Middle East to the countries of East Asia.

(Thanks to Alain)

Asian Newsable – INS Vagir is on an extended-range deployment to Australia, marking a historic milestone as the first Indian Navy submarine to be deployed in the country. The Kalvari-class submarine is engaging in joint exercises with Royal Australian Navy’s units on the West Coast of Australia

(Thanks to Alain)

War Zone – The French carrier-based Rafale fighter appears to have emerged victorious in India, being selected ahead of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

Naval News – The Indian Navy has reacquired the capability to conduct multi-carrier operations. It demonstrated last week the coordinated deployment of more than 35 aircraft from two aircraft carriers: INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, and their respective escorts. Meanwhile discussions for the procurement of a third aircraft carrier are ongoing.

Hindustan Times – Even though INS Vikrant is headed for “guarantee refit” at Cochin shipyard, INS Vikramaditya is fully operational and ready to chart Indo-Pacific.

Defense News – German submarine builder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems has signed a pact with Indian shipyard Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. that would secure local manufacturing in the event the Indian Navy taps the German vendor for new boats.

First Post – Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius, who is in India on a four-day visit, said his country is in a ‘good place’ to bag the six-submarine deal worth Rs 43,000 crore. The deal is part of New Delhi’s P-75I project that envisages the construction of advanced underwater vessels.

(Thanks to Alain)

1945 – It’s pretty plain that India remains content to freeride on outside-supplied maritime security, much as the United States freerode on the Royal Navy for most of the nineteenth century.

US Naval War College Review – The dissonance between the positions of India’s Nehruvian strategic community and of the Indian strategic establishment, especially regarding the freedom-of-navigation operations the U.S. Navy long has conducted in India’s exclusive economic zone, is rooted in realpolitik considerations, especially China’s rise as a great power, and the difference between international law and politics.

War on the Rocks – Despite increased cooperation and regular statements from American and Indian naval leaders expressing a desire to work together more, the India-U.S. naval relationship remains one of considerable untapped potential.

Naval News – The Cochin Shipyard ceremonially handed over the first indigenous aircraft carrier “Vikrant” to the Indian Navy.