A fleet of 175 warships will be built  ( warships )

New Delhi. The Indian Navy has just placed an order for 68 new warships and frigates to build a strong blue-water naval force to protect its vast geo-strategic interests in the Indian Ocean as well as counter the growing threat from China. Whose total value is about Rs 2 lakh crore. The Navy, which has 132-warships along with 143 aircraft and 130 helicopters, also has preliminary approval or ‘clearance of need’ for the construction of eight next-generation corvettes, nine submarines, five survey ships and two multi-role ships. According to a report in ‘Times of India’, facing the slow pace of construction of warships in Indian shipyards, gradual decommissioning of old ships and budgetary constraints, the Navy will have about 155-160 warships  ( warships ) by 2030.

A source said that now the target is to have at least 175 warships, if not 200, by 2035. The number of fighter planes, planes, helicopters and drones will also have to be increased. The growing maritime threat from China cannot be ignored. The People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) is aggressively looking for more overseas bases to meet its ongoing logistics challenge in the Indo-Pacific after Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, Karachi and Gwadar in Pakistan and now possibly Reem in Cambodia . Of course, China is also rapidly building ships to become the world’s largest navy with 355 warships and submarines.

The number of Chinese warships is expected to reach 555.
A Navy official said that ‘China has inducted more than 150 warships in the last 10 years. Estimates suggest that their number may reach 555 warships in the next five-six years. Chinese aircraft carriers will also start roaming in the Indian Ocean by then. Whereas the Indian Navy has still not received initial approval for the construction of the third aircraft carrier, the construction of which will take more than a decade. Loss of underwater combat capability is another matter of great concern. Due to continuous delay in launching the long-pending ‘Project-75-India’ to build six diesel-electric submarines worth over Rs 42,000 crore, the government is now going to build three more French-origin Scorpene submarines. .

All ships are being built in India
The good news is that under Project-17A, seven 6,670 tonne stealth frigates – four at MDL and three at GRSE, Kolkata, are being built at a total cost of Rs 45,000 crore. Their time frame for delivery is fixed in 2024-2026. Of the other 61 ships on order, all but two frigates are being built in India. Two more guided-missile destroyers (Imphal and Surat) will also be ready soon. Recently, a contract worth more than Rs 19,000 crore has been signed with Hindustan Shipyard for five 44,000 tonne fleet support ships, the delivery of which will start after four years. Six next generation missile ships are also to be built at Cochin Shipyard for Rs 9,805 crore. Whose delivery will start from March 2027. The delivery of 11 next generation offshore patrol vessels, to be built at a total cost of Rs 9,781 crore, will begin from September 2026.