The Indian Navy staged a rare, made-in-India “triple play” in Mumbai: the lead Project-17A INS Nilgiri, the fourth and final Project-15B INS Surat, and the sixth Scorpene-class submarine INS Vaghsheer were commissioned together.
The ceremony, presided over by the Prime Minister, marked the first time three frontline combatants spanning a destroyer, a frigate, and a submarine entered service on the same day. Official advisories ahead of the event called it a “landmark day,” and post event reports confirmed all three were dedicated to the nation at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.
What got commissioned and why it matters
- INS Surat (Project-15B) closes out a four ship destroyer series that began with INS Visakhapatnam (2021). Armed with long-range surface-to-air missiles, BrahMos, advanced sensors, and cooperative engagement capabilities, Surat is also cited as the Navy’s first AI enabled warship—underscoring the digital step change in combat systems integration.
- INS Nilgiri (Project-17A) is the first of seven advanced stealth frigates being built by MDL and GRSE with extensive Indian content. The class introduces improved signature management, automation, and survivability over the earlier Shivalik-class, with multiple additional units already at sea trials or in delivery.
- INS Vaghsheer (Kalvari/Scorpene class) rounds off the initial six boat conventional AIP ready submarine program built with Naval Group technology transfer, giving the Navy a full half dozen modern diesel electric subs with potent anti ship and ASW punch.
This “triple commissioning” isn’t just a ceremony; it is throughput. Commissioning three frontline assets in one day collapses capability gaps faster, strengthens fleet availability, and compresses training and integration cycles across escort, area air defense, and undersea warfare roles.
2025 by the numbers: pace and scale
If 2022 was the year India proved it could build a carrier (INS Vikrant), 2025 is the year it proved it can deliver at scale, quickly. By the end of 2025, official and tracking sources indicate that the Navy is inducting a new warship every 40 days on average and has already inducted 10 warships and one submarine as of October 31, with several more to be inducted by the end of the year.
Budget momentum underwrites this push. The FY 2025–26 defence outlay rose to ₹6.81 trillion (~$78.7B), with ₹1.80 trillion earmarked for modernization (capital expenditure). Reuters reporting highlights ₹243.9 billion set aside specifically for the naval fleet—evidence that sea power is being resourced even as manpower costs remain substantial.
The Navy’s orderbook is not only about numbers. Recent milestones include the commissioning of INS Ikshak (SVL) on 6 November 2025, the third of the new large survey vessels—a reminder that hydrography, mapping, and maritime domain awareness are integral to combat power and logistics.
Nuclear Submarine and Sea Based Deterrence Advances
India’s sea based nuclear deterrent has also moved forward. In August 2024, the INS Arighaat, India’s second Arihant class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), was formally commissioned. Arighaat joins INS Arihant (commissioned 2016) as the core of India’s underwater strategic force, capable of launching nuclear tipped SLBMs. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh emphasized that Arighaat “will further strengthen India’s nuclear triad, enhance nuclear deterrence, and establish strategic balance & peace”. Importantly, Arighaat is reported to carry the longer range K-4 SLBM (range ~3,500 km), compared with Arihant’s K-15 (range ~700 km). In November 2024, India successfully test-fired a K-4 missile from INS Arighaat, the first such test from a submerged, operational SSBN.
With two SSBNs now active, a third, INS Aridhaman, is slated to enter service by 2025–26. This will give India a continuous at sea nuclear deterrence. (India is also leasing an Akula-II nuclear attack submarine, INS Chakra-II, from Russia to gain operational experience with nuclear propulsion.) Together, India’s Arihant class boats mean the country can launch nuclear missiles from stealthy platforms deep under the sea a key element of a survivable second strike force. The Navy’s focus on indigenous reactors and missile integration is part of a broader push for a true nuclear triad (land, air, sea) under “Make in India” initiatives.
How 2025 compares with the past
Pace: A decade ago, commissioning milestones were spaced out—single ships at a time, with long gaps between complex platforms. In 2025, India demonstrated industrial and programmatic maturity by commissioning three major combatants in one stroke something you simply didn’t see in the early 2010s.
Scale: In 2014–2015, the Navy sat near the 130-ship mark with limited under-construction diversity; today, public updates cite ~54 ships concurrently under construction and an induction tempo of one warship every ~40 days. The vision of 200+ hulls by 2035 is now supported by yard capacity, tier-2 supplier bases, and serial production learning curves.
Sophistication: Compare Project-15 to 15B, signatures are lower, automation is higher, cooperative engagement and networking are more mature, and the Navy is experimenting with AI assisted operations onboard. Likewise, Project-17A frigates bring stealth shaping, composites, and integrated platform management beyond the Shivalik era. Sub surface, the transition from Type 209/Kilo legacies to Scorpene (with indigenous AIP in prospect) plus the SSBN/SSN pipeline marks a generational technology lift.
Strategic framing: The commissioning day itself doubled as a message, India is a builder’s navy now, post Vikrant, and is preparing for a maritime century shaped by great power rivalry in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Official remarks throughout January 2025 reinforced that the IOR is a locus of global trade (≈95% of India’s trade by volume) and competition, and hence the accelerated push to a blue water, networked force.
Indigenous Shipbuilding Milestones
“Make in India” is a central theme. Officials touted the triple induction itself as a testament to India’s self-reliance in warship production. All three vessels commissioned on January 15, 2025, were entirely Indian-designed and built at Mazagon Dock, and the frigate and destroyer by the Warship Design Bureau, and the Scorpène sub by the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam. Key systems and weapons on these ships – from shipborne radar and electronic warfare suites to missile launchers – have high indigenous content.
Recent milestones illustrate this push; INS Vikrant (2022) was the first large carrier fully built in India. The new Visakhapatnam class destroyers (P-15B) and Nilgiri class frigates (P-17A) were all designed by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau. Coastal corvettes (Kamorta-class) and amphibious ships (Jalashwa-class LPD) are now indigenously produced. The Navy’s long range maritime patrol aircraft are being progressively replaced by Indian built P-8I (US assembled) while indigenous helicopter and UAV programs (e.g., ALH Dhruv, IAI Heron) have expanded. Even weapons like the ship launched BrahMos supersonic missile and the Barak-8 SAM were integrated onto these new ships, epitomizing the “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” policy.
2025 verdict
The Navy’s 2025 surge isn’t a single event; it’s a systems story. A decade of investment in the Warship Design Bureau, Indian yards (MDL, GRSE, CSL, GSL), private partners (L&T), and a maturing vendor ecosystem has turned “Make in India” slogans into metal. The triple commissioning of Surat, Nilgiri, and Vaghsheer crystallized that progress. Nuclear ambitions moved from promise to posture with Arighat joining the deterrent core, while indigenous SSNs transitioned from policy headline to reactor physics and materials science. On top of all this, the number that is 54 ships are in build, 10+ commissioned this year, 200+ targeted by 2035, points to a Navy that is not merely keeping pace with the region, but aiming to set it.
For a country whose prosperity rides maritime lanes and whose strategic challenges are increasingly seaborne, 2025 reads like the year the blue horizon started rising fast.
References:
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2049870&
Article by Shaloo