Presence, Not Posturing: The Real Story of the Indian Navy’s 2025

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is tempting to judge a navy by the moments that dominate television screens: a carrier sailing into view, a major operation announced, a show of force that photographs well. By that measure, the Indian Navy had a strong year. Operation Sindoor and the deployment of carrier-led formations were visible assertions of power and resolve.But focusing only on those moments misses the more important story. Over the past year, the Indian Navy has been busy in a quieter, more demanding way — maintaining presence, enforcing order at sea, responding to crises, and steadily building future capability. That steady work, far from the headlines, is what will shape India’s maritime position in the years ahead.

Consider maritime security. In March 2025, INS Tarkash, supported by a P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, intercepted a dhow in the Western Indian Ocean carrying roughly 2.5 tonnes of narcotics. It was a notable seizure, but not an isolated one. Drug interdictions, boardings, and patrols continued throughout the year as part of a sustained effort to deny criminal networks freedom of movement at sea. Alongside these operations, the Navy quietly carried out its constabulary role under Operation Sankalp, escorting merchant shipping, maintaining anti-piracy patrols, and standing by for emergencies in contested waters. These missions rarely generate dramatic footage, yet they perform a critical function. Trade moves because someone ensures that it can. Lawlessness recedes because presence is constant, not occasional.The same understated professionalism was evident in humanitarian operations. When a powerful earthquake struck Myanmar in March 2025, the Indian Navy launched Operation Brahma. Ships including INS Satpura, Savitri, Karmuk, LCU-52 and Gharial delivered large quantities of relief material, medical supplies, and emergency stores to affected areas. Working alongside Indian Air Force airlifts and Army medical teams, the Navy demonstrated what first-responder credibility looks like in practice—rapid mobilisation, sustained delivery, and coordination across services.

Elsewhere, the year was marked by a steady rhythm of search-and-rescue and emergency response. Naval helicopters carried out hazardous winch evacuations at sea, including rescues from MV Heilan Star. Firefighting and damage-control teams were deployed to incidents involving vessels such as MT Yi Cheng 6 in the Gulf of Aden and container ships MSC Elsa 3 and MV Wan Hai 503 off the Kerala coast. These operations reinforced a simple reality: long before a crisis becomes a headline, the Navy is often already on scene. Training and exercises formed another pillar of the year’s activity. TROPEX-25 tested warfighting readiness early in the year and, in hindsight, helped sharpen preparedness ahead of Operation Sindoor. Beyond national exercises, the Navy invested heavily in working with partners — not for optics, but for usable interoperability. Exercises such as KONKAN-25 saw INS Vikrant operate alongside the UK Carrier Strike Group centred on HMS Prince of Wales, with participation from Norway and Japan. Samudra Shakti with Indonesia focused on anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance. Malabar, held off Guam, brought together the Quad navies for high-end combat drills, while the French-led La Pérouse exercise involved nine navies securing critical sea lines.India also expanded the scope of cooperation. Personnel from nine friendly nations embarked an Indian naval ship under the Mission Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) SAGAR initiative, training together at sea. The launch of AIKEYME, the first India–Africa multilateral naval exercise, reflected a growing emphasis on shared maritime responsibility rather than narrow alignments.Capability-building continued at home. INS Nistar showcased submarine rescue operations during Pacific Reach 2025 in Singapore, reinforcing India’s emerging role in regional sub-safety cooperation. Exercises such as Trishul, Jal Prahar and Tiger Triumph refined amphibious operations, cyber integration, and humanitarian response planning in a tri-service setting.Perhaps the most consequential developments, however, took place in shipyards rather than exercise areas. In 2025, INS Tamal, commissioned in Russia, became the last Indian warship acquired from a foreign shipyard. Since then, the focus has shifted decisively to domestic induction. The Navy welcomed INS Surat, a Visakhapatnam-class destroyer; the stealth frigates INS Nilgiri, INS Himgiri and INS Udaygiri; INS Vagsheer, the final Kalvari-class submarine; and three shallow-water anti-submarine warfare vessels—INS Arnala, Androth and Mahe. Survey ships INS Nirdeshak and INS Ikshak, along with the indigenously designed diving support vessel INS Nistar, further expanded specialist capability.These inductions matter beyond numbers. Warship construction sustains advanced design skills, specialised manufacturing, and employment across a broad industrial base. Strategic autonomy is built as much in workshops and yards as it is at sea.Taken together, the past year offers a clearer picture of how maritime power is actually sustained. Constabulary patrols keep commerce flowing. Exercises reduce friction before crises emerge. Humanitarian missions build trust where rhetoric cannot. Indigenous construction strengthens long-term resilience.As India approaches the International Fleet Review and MILAN-26 in February 2026, these capabilities will be on display. More importantly, they will continue to operate day after day, often unnoticed, safeguarding the sea lanes that carry India’s trade and energy.Modern maritime power is not forged in a single moment. It is accumulated patiently—through presence, preparedness and persistence. Over the past year, the Indian Navy has shown that it understands this better than most.