India aware of China supplying ships to Pakistan, strengthening our defence: Navy Vice Chief

NEW DELHI: Indian Navy is shaping its future asset inductions in line with plans to counter such threats as arising consequent to the Chinese made weapons and systems, warships and Submarines being supplied to Pakistan, said the Vice Chief of Naval Staff (VCNS) on Thursday. Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, VCNS said, We are aware that China is supplying ships and submarines to Pakistan. We are monitoring everything closely and working on strengthening the defence. We Know what kind of anti-submarine warfare capabilities we need to counter such threats. He was addressing media as part of the Curtain raiser event 'Swavlamban 2025', the Indian Navy will host as a flagship event on innovation and indigenisation on November 25-26 at Manekshaw Centre. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will attend a session. China has emerged to be Pakistan's biggest arms supplier. The latest being the ongoing Hangor Class Submarines project under which eight new submarines will get inducted into the Pakistan Navy and the first one is likely to be commissioned in the first half of 2026. Three of them have already been launched by the Chinese manufacturers. Significantly, these all will be equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology enhancing the submerged endurance of the submarine severalfold. An AIP system gives a submarine the ability to remain submerged underwater, away from enemy sensors, for a long time without surfacing. None of the Indian submarines have the AIP technology. As highlighted by TNIE earlier, the Indian Navy's focus on anti-submarine warfare is conspicuous with its planned induction of 16 ASW-SWCs, six P-8I Poseidon and more UAVs and drones for this purpose. This follows the worries aired by the force regarding its underwater capabilities . The worry remains that over the years, Pakistan and China have been adding strength to their capabilities, including the underwater. Importantly, in August, Pakistan inducted its third of the eight Chinese manufactured modern Hangor Class submarines which is Air Independent Propulsion equipped. Meanwhile, the Indian Navy is concerned that its platforms are reaching obsolescence; therefore, the new additions should not only replace the older ones but also increase the overall numbers. The Chinese PLA Navy, with over 360 warships and submarines, has become the largest navy in the world, with an increased presence in maritime bodies around the globe, including the Indian Ocean, while the Indian Navy's total fleet strength is over 130. Talking specifically about the next generation guided missile destroyers planned to be constructed in future, Admiral Vatsayan said We have worked out a good design and hope to receive the AON (acceptance of necessity) approval from the government in this financial year and award the contracts within the next two years. The warships will be one of the most advanced so far. The Indian Navy's submarine's underwater fighting capabilities, even after the addition of six indigenously manufactured Scorpene-class submarines, are plagued by obsolete boats (submarines). Although new boats have been added and new projects are in the pipeline, the Navy's submarine arm has been plagued by obsolescence and is operating 12 vintage submarines. Mentioning Operation Sindoor, Admiral Vatsayan brought out that The Indian Navy has converted some of the lessons learned during Operation Sindoor into challenges to present to the industry and start-ups for bolstering operational capabilities, as part of the event Swavlamban. Swavlamban 2025 Since the Swavlamban's first edition in 2022, the event has grown into a platform where MSMEs and start-ups showcase their solutions based on challenges posed by the armed forces to meet their operational requirements. Since the launch of iDEX in 2018, over 565 challenges have been taken up across all stakeholders. Of these, 198 pertain to the Indian Navy. This leadership in challenge ownership has resulted in tangible, real-world outcomes. Over 150 new startups/MSMEs have been brought into the defence innovation ecosystem and over Rs 2700 crore worth of AoNs have already been accorded for iDEX challenges, of which procurement orders of more than Rs 1400 crore have been placed. The Swavlamban seminars have been pivotal in galvanising the engagement of startups and MSMEs, nurturing not only niche technologies but holistic, end-to-end solutions that have a direct bearing on both efficiency and the felt needs of the users.