NEW DELHI, September 30 — Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced on Wednesday that the Indian Navy will induct a record 18 major warships and submarines into its fleet during 2026, marking the largest single-year fleet expansion in the service's operational history.
The inductions encompass Project 17A Nilgiri-class guided-missile stealth frigates, Project 15B Visakhapatnam-class stealth destroyers, Kalvari-class diesel-electric attack submarines, and indigenous Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts (ASW-SWC). Every vessel in the pipeline is being constructed indigenously across public shipyards including Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL).
The Defence Minister stated that the landmark induction cycle reflects the institutional maturity of India's domestic shipbuilding industry and reinforces the Navy’s posture as a decisive blue-water force in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Naval modernization programs and indigenous warship building capabilities are core defence topics for competitive examinations. Candidates should remember that the Project 15B destroyers and Project 17A frigates feature over 75% indigenous content under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.