As Admiral Tripathi prepares to hand over command of the Indian Navy, he leaves behind a service visibly transformed, 45 warships under construction in Indian shipyards, a Carrier Battle Group (CBG) that forced an adversary’s navy to port during Operation Sindoor and a procurement pipeline that includes Rafale Marine jets and next-generation submarines.
In this interview, he speaks about the Navy’s self-reliance push, its expanding presence across the Indian Ocean Region and the road ahead for India’s maritime power.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee report released earlier this year highlighted the Navy’s indigenisation record. What has enabled such close synergy between the Indian Navy, shipyards and industry & what is the next frontier for the Navy’s self-reliance push?
“We take great pride in our active pursuit of Aatmanirbharta. The close synergy between the Indian Navy, shipyards and private industry is the result of a deliberate, decades-long transition from a “Buyer’s Navy” to a “Builder’s Navy,” through institutional integration, a user-driven design philosophy and continuous operational feedback. To date, India has built and commissioned over 170 naval platforms domestically and all 45 platforms currently under construction are being built exclusively in Indian shipyards.
We have also set up the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) and the Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC), which allow end users to interact directly with academia and industry. The Indian Navy proudly owns 35% of the iDEX challenges announced in the defence and security domain.
The next frontier is achieving deeper Aatmanirbharta at the component, sub-system, deep sub-component level and materials. This means going beyond hull construction to sovereign design, development, integration, and sustainment of propulsion systems, advanced sensor and weapon systems, AI-enabled combat systems, autonomous platforms, and quantum-secure networks.
We are currently steering approximately 140 major R&D projects with 25 DRDO labs, while strengthening linkages with MSMEs, start-ups, private design houses and public sector industry.”
As maritime competition intensifies and underwater activity expands across the Indo-Pacific, how is the Navy strengthening its submarine and anti-submarine warfare capabilities for sustained deterrence and maritime domain awareness?
“Both submarine and anti-submarine warfare capability development remain very high priorities. The undersea domain remains central to maritime deterrence, it is not just about having submarines, but about having underwater domain awareness and the ability to respond faster than any potential adversary.
Our submarine capability development is guided by a 30-year submarine building programme approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). Under Project-75(I), we are in the final stages of procurement to build six next-generation conventional submarines equipped with Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) under a technology-transfer and indigenous manufacturing framework.
Our ASW and Maritime Domain Awareness approach is based on a layered capability architecture involving conventional and nuclear submarines, advanced maritime patrol aircraft, shipborne helicopters, seabed awareness and underwater surveillance systems, because maritime domain awareness today extends from seabed to space.
The induction of MH-60R helicopters has significantly strengthened operational effectiveness. We are also inducting 16 ASW Shallow Water Craft specifically designed to detect, track and neutralise undersea threats in coastal waters.
We are progressing procurement of six additional P-8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance and ASW aircraft. A contract for 31 MQ-9B Sky/Sea Guardian HALE RPAS has been placed, with deliveries scheduled to commence in 2029. We are simultaneously integrating unmanned underwater systems, AI-enabled processing and network-centric operational capability into the underwater battlespace.”
Beyond adding a new fighter platform, how will Rafale Marine strengthen carrier aviation in areas like maritime strike, network-centric warfare and interoperability? And what kind of weapons and integration ecosystem is being built around it?
“The Rafale Marine (M) acquisition significantly strengthens the Navy’s carrier aviation capability across multiple dimensions. The aircraft brings advanced sensors, weapons, electronic warfare capability and superior situational awareness, all of which are essential for operations in a complex multi-domain battlespace.
We signed the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for the procurement of 26 Rafale-M aircraft, which importantly includes performance-based logistics to ensure high availability. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in 2028 and conclude by 2030. Dassault Aviation will train our initial batch of crew to enable Day One Ops directly from the Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers.
Carrier aviation today is about networked combat capability, not just aircraft. Rafale Marine significantly enhances the Navy’s maritime strike and operational reach capability and will enhance our ability to conduct sea control, maritime strike and fleet air defence alongside carrier battle groups and the maritime surveillance architecture.”
With AMCA now in the spotlight and indigenous carrier aviation becoming a major focus area, how does the Navy see the long-term future of deck-based air power and where does TEDBF fit into that roadmap?
“The strategic necessity of Carrier Battle Groups (CBG) was aptly demonstrated during Operation Sindoor. The rapid deployment of a CBG enabled aggressive posturing that forced the adversary’s navy to remain confined to their ports or close to the Makran coast; they never ventured out. The immense, multidimensional combat power centred around the CBG was also recently witnessed by the Hon’ble Prime Minister during his overnight stay on board INS Vikrant.
Deck-based air power remains central to sea control and maritime deterrence. The Navy’s long-term view is that carrier aviation must evolve through a combination of near-term capability, medium-term transition and long-term indigenous development. Rafale Marine addresses our immediate requirement, but the future must be shaped by an indigenous carrier-borne fighter ecosystem to secure our national maritime interests “anytime, anywhere, anyhow.”
TEDBF is an important step towards sovereign carrier aviation capability. The Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter programme is the cornerstone of our long-term roadmap, being pursued as a 4++ generation carrier-borne fighter in close collaboration with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA). The niche technologies mastered during LCA (Navy) development, along with the robust industrial base established during that process, are being fully utilised to meet the challenging timelines for TEDBF’s first flight.
Future carrier air wings will increasingly involve the integration of manned fighters, unmanned systems, and multi-domain operational integration into unified operational grids.
From the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to anti-piracy and humanitarian missions, the Navy has maintained a high operational tempo in recent years. What do these operations say about the evolving role of the Indian Navy across the wider Indian Ocean Region?
Maritime security today extends far beyond traditional naval warfare; it includes protection of sea lanes, safeguarding of energy flows, anti-piracy operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, evacuation operations, and reassurance to merchant shipping. The persistent operational tempo we have maintained, clocking almost 11,000 ship days and 50,000 flying hours in 2025 alone, firmly establishes the Indian Navy as the First Responder and Preferred Security Partner in the wider Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Persistent forward presence enhances both deterrence and reassurance. When the Red Sea crisis escalated, we deployed more than 40 warships to protect merchant shipping, resulting in the safe transit of 181 lakh metric tonnes of cargo valued at over $7.55 billion.
This is in addition to our sustained mission-based Deployments and continuous anti-piracy deployment in the Gulf of Aden since 2008. Our rapid HADR missions, Operation Brahma in Myanmar and Operation Sagar Bandhu in Sri Lanka, further demonstrate our capacity for compassionate response.
As you prepare to hand over command, what has been the most satisfying aspect of leading the Indian Navy during this phase of transformation?
“I view our achievements not as isolated accomplishments, but as part of the Indian Navy’s continuing transformation into a Combat-Ready, Credible, Cohesive, and Future-Ready Force. What has been most satisfying is seeing that definitive shift in capabilities and collective mindset take shape across operations, modernisation, and joint warfighting, all at the same time.
This transformation anchors on three distinct pillars. First, sustained operational readiness and forward presence. The Indian Navy maintained a very high operational tempo in an increasingly contested maritime environment. Our rapid operational responses during maritime security contingencies, anti-piracy missions, and Operation Sindoor successfully demonstrated the Navy’s capability to safeguard India’s maritime interests while maintaining credible deterrence.
Second, force modernisation and Aatmanirbharta. With 45 platforms currently under construction exclusively in Indian shipyards, the commissioning of INS Udayagiri as our 100th indigenously designed warship and the induction of 18 warships and 2 submarines since 2025, Aatmanirbharta has moved from aspiration to operational capability. We have simultaneously accelerated integration of AI-enabled applications, the CRYSTAL AI Data Centre, network-centric warfare capabilities and unmanned systems.
Third, the advancement of jointness and future warfighting concepts. The synergy demonstrated during Operation Sindoor, the conduct of Tri-Service exercises such as Trishul and deeper interoperability with our sister Services have significantly enhanced our collective combat effectiveness.
The true strength of the Indian Navy remains its people. Watching our men and women, whether young Agniveers or brave women officers circumnavigating the globe, step up to secure our nation’s maritime destiny is my greatest source of satisfaction. I leave with immense confidence that the Navy is stronger, more capable, more indigenous, more networked and better prepared than ever before.”