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  The Indian Ocean has always been a theater of power struggles, trade, and strategic maneuvering. At its heart lies the Arabian Sea—an arena where history, commerce, and geopolitics converge. For India, the Arabian Sea is not just a waterbody; it is the nation’s maritime lifeline, security shield, and pathway to becoming a dominant naval power in the 21st century. Read the complete blog:  https://www.strategicvanguard.com/post/indias-strategic-edge-arabian-sea

  In the evolving landscape of global maritime power, India has taken a bold step with the commissioning of INS Vikrant , the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier. This monumental achievement signifies not just a leap in India’s naval capabilities but a crucial pivot in its maritime strategy. In this article, we will explore why INS Vikrant is a game-changer for India, the role of aircraft carriers in modern warfare, and the future trajectory of India’s carrier fleet. Why Are Aircraft Carriers Crucial in Modern Warfare? Aircraft carriers are floating airbases, offering unparalleled power projection and strategic advantage . In modern warfare, the significance of these behemoths extends beyond combat to shaping global influence. Power Projection: Aircraft carriers enable nations to project power far from their shores. For India, which aims to secure its interests in the Indo-Pacific region , carriers provide a mobile platform for launching offensive and defensive operation...

Malabar Exercises ( Credits- Wikimedia Commons) The Indian Navy is the pre-eminent power in the Indian Ocean. But with the increasing foray of the Chinese Navy, Indian Navy is reorienting itself to counter the threat and also is concentrating on humanitarian relief operations to increase it's influence. The Diplomat in a detailed article looks at the ways Indian Navy is reorienting itself. (The article can be read here .......)

Credits- Indian Navy The Indian Navy is ready for any contingency, Indian Navy Chief. With increased deployment and also maturing as a true blue sea navy, Indian navy will play an increasingly key role in India's security architecture. (To read the full article, click here ..........)

Image credits- Indian Navy Source- The National Interest Author- Vivek Mishra Recent developments in the Indian Ocean have been a witness to India’s mustering enough political will to advance its regional interests through actionable deliverables, visibly in opposition to mere notional assertions of the past. As India reorients its Indian Ocean policy, a tripartite transformation is underway—a regional outlook that ties together India’s Act East policy, its Look West policy and, most noteworthy, its cooperation with the United States in the regional maritime domain. Acting East The transformation from a Look East to an Act East policy has been at the center of India’s maritime recalibrations in the past few years. Such an approach has been accompanied by an improvement in relations with not just the individual countries to its east, but with strong regional organizations such as ASEAN. Countries of specific focus for India have recently included Vietnam, Brunei, T...

Image credits- Indian Navy Source- The Diplomat Author- Pushan Das Last week, India’s first conventional submarine in over a decade and a half —the INS Kalvari—finally began sea trials, amid reports of Indo-U.S. cooperation in tracking Chinese submarine activity in the region. As sightings of Chinese submarines become more frequent in the Indian Ocean region, the Indian Navy is looking at innovative ways to gain an edge in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities. Can the Indian Navy effectively counter a modern Chinese submarine force, which is primarily optimized for regional anti-surface warfare missions near major sea lines of communication in the Indian Ocean? India’s expenditure on defense acquisition has remained largely static in real terms in recent years, resulting in constraints on not just the navy but the armed forces in general. The defense outlay for fiscal year 2016/17 was INR 2.49 trillion (USD 36.63 billion), but according to IHS Jane’s 360, th...

Indian navy fleet underway ( Image credits- Indian navy official) Source- The Diplomat Author- Abhijit Singh Last week, the Indian Navy held a landmark combined commanders’ conference on its premier naval platform, the INS Vikramaditya. The senior officers’ conclave – the first of its kind to be organized aboard an aircraft carrier – was made memorable by a rousing address delivered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which he outlined New Delhi’s many challenges in Asia, paying particular attention to India’s strategic stakes in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The discourse may have pleased naval commanders in attendance – not least because the prime minister had a word of praise for the Indian Navy’s strategy for the IOR, a presumed reference to the recently released Indian maritime security strategy document. The new publication has been the subject of much discussion in maritime circles recently. In the absence of an online version for public viewing, however, ...

Ship building in ancient Calicut coast ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons /  BRAUN AND HOGENBERG) When we talk about the Indian navy, what nobody realities is the fact that India has a rich and varied maritime tradition dating back to the Indus civilization. Like the Chinese, India was a major trading hub and had extensive links with ancient Egypt and other civilization. As we celebrate the navy week, it is time to take a look at the history and the evolution of the Indian navy: Early years: India has a rich maritime history dating back 5,000 years.The world's first tidal dock is believed to have been built at Lothal around 2300 BCE during the Indus Valley Civilization, near the present day Mangrol harbour on the Gujarat coast. The Rig Vedas written around 1700 BCE, credits Varuna with knowledge of the ocean routes and describes naval expeditions. There is reference to the side wings of a vessel called Plava, which give stability to the ship under storm conditions...

Indian navy flotilla ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Indian navy) Source- The Diplomat Author- Darshana M. Baruah On October 26, 2015, the Indian Navy released its latest maritime strategy, titled “Ensuring Secure Seas: Indian Maritime Security Strategy.” This edition is a revised and updated version of the previous outlined strategy “Freedom to Use the Seas: India’s Maritime Military Strategy,” published in 2007. The title itself is indicative of the changing tone of the Indian navy’s interests and intentions from the 2007 strategy. The previous strategy did not take into consideration the changing geopolitical environment and its strategic implications on India’s maritime interests. The 2015 maritime security strategy addresses this gap by complementing the evolving security dynamics in the Indian Ocean region and reflecting a bold Indian navy with a renewed outlook on India’s maritime security needs. The security architecture in maritime Asia along with...