Warships of the Indian Navy

Think of the sea as three rings around India. The outer ring is the deep ocean. The middle ring is the open sea. The inner ring is the water near the coast. Each ring needs a different ship.

How does the Navy sort its fighting ships?

• Destroyers are the big guards of the deep ocean. They are the largest fighting ships in this lesson.
• Frigates are the all-rounders. They can fight ships, planes and submarines.
• Corvettes and small anti-submarine craft work near the coast. Their main job is hunting submarines.

Support ships are a fourth group. They do not fight. They map the seabed or help divers.

Why do people say “Builder’s Navy”?

A PIB backgrounder of 3 December 2025 uses the phrase. It says the Navy moved from an import-dependent “Buyer’s Navy” to a “Builder’s Navy”.

The same note says INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri were the 100th and 101st indigenous warships. Both joined in August 2025. It adds that Indian yards have delivered over 40 warships and submarines since 2014.

Why does each ring need a different ship?

A ship cannot be best at everything. Size, speed and weapons pull against each other. So the Navy builds different ships for different jobs.

For example, PIB says INS Surat ranks among the largest destroyers in the world. That size suits deep water. A small craft like INS Malvan suits shallow water near the coast.

Does “indigenous” mean every part is Indian?

No. It means a share of the ship is Indian-made. PIB gives that share as a percentage. INS Surat has 75% indigenous content. So 75% means about three parts in four.

Destroyers are the Navy’s heavy guards. This card names the two destroyer classes and their ship dates.

What is the Kolkata class?

The Kolkata class is Project 15A. It has three ships. INS Kolkata joined in August 2014. INS Kochi followed in September 2015. INS Chennai joined in November 2016.

PIB says these ships form a key part of the Navy’s defence and strike power. They carry advanced radars and missiles.

What is the Visakhapatnam class?

This class is Project 15B. It has four ships. INS Visakhapatnam joined in November 2021. INS Mormugao followed in December 2022. INS Imphal joined in December 2023. INS Surat came in January 2025.

PIB calls INS Surat the fourth and final ship of the class. It has 75% indigenous content. PIB says it ranks among the largest and most sophisticated destroyers in the world.

Why are there two destroyer classes?

The second class is a newer design. Project 15A ships joined from 2014 to 2016. Project 15B ships joined from 2021 to 2025. The letters A and B show the order.

A simple memory trick: A comes first, and 2014 comes first. B comes next, and 2021 comes next.

Was INS Surat the first Visakhapatnam-class ship?

No. This is a common slip. INS Visakhapatnam joined first, in November 2021. INS Surat came last. PIB calls it the fourth and final ship of the class.

Frigates are the backbone of the surface fleet. This card follows three groups of them.

What came before the stealth frigates?

The Talwar and Teg series came from Russia. DD News describes INS Tamal as the eighth Krivak-class frigate from Russia.

It was built at Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad. DD News reported it was set to be commissioned on 1 July 2025.

DD News says Tamal marks the end of foreign-built warships for India. Two more of the class are being built at Goa Shipyard.

What is the Shivalik class?

The Shivalik class is Project 17. It has three ships. INS Shivalik joined in April 2010. INS Satpura followed in August 2011. INS Sahyadri joined in July 2012.

PIB calls them multi-role stealth frigates. They support the Navy’s blue-water operations.

What is the Nilgiri class?

The Nilgiri class is Project 17A. The Navy’s Warship Design Bureau designed it. Seven ships are named in the PIB list.

• INS Nilgiri: January 2025, the first ship.
• INS Himgiri and INS Udaygiri: August 2025.
• INS Taragiri: April 2026. It was delivered on 28 November 2025.
• INS Dunagiri: 21 June 2026, the fifth ship, built by GRSE.
• INS Mahendragiri: 11 July 2026, the sixth ship, built by Mazagon Dock.
• INS Vindhyagiri: listed by PIB in December 2025 as under construction.

INS Mahendragiri has over 75% indigenous content. It displaces about 6,670 tonnes. It can reach 28 knots. It can carry BrahMos missiles.

How did the frigates become Indian-made?

Look at two ships side by side. INS Tamal was built abroad, at Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad. DD News treats it as the end of the foreign-built line.

INS Mahendragiri is the other way round. The Navy’s own Warship Design Bureau designed it. Mazagon Dock built it. It has over 75% indigenous content.

Is joining the same as being delivered?

No. Delivery means the yard hands the ship over. Joining means the Navy commissions it. INS Taragiri shows the gap. The yard handed it over in November 2025. The Navy commissioned it in April 2026.

Another slip is to call Mahendragiri the last Nilgiri-class frigate. It was the sixth. INS Vindhyagiri is still to come.

These small ships guard the coast against submarines. This card covers three groups.

What is the Kamorta class?

The Kamorta class is Project 28. GRSE in Kolkata built all four ships. INS Kamorta was the first. The Defence Minister commissioned it at Visakhapatnam on 23 August 2014.

GRSE called it the first indigenous anti-submarine warfare corvette. It had about 90% indigenous content. The other three are INS Kadmatt, INS Kiltan and INS Kavaratti.

INS Kavaratti was the last of the four. GRSE delivered it on 18 February 2020.

What are the Arnala and Mahe classes?

These are anti-submarine craft for shallow water. PIB writes the short form ASW-SWC. There will be 16 in all.

GRSE built INS Agray, the fourth Arnala-class craft. It joined on 21 June 2026.

Cochin Shipyard builds the Mahe class. INS Mahe was commissioned on 24 November 2025. INS Malvan was the second of eight. It joined at Karwar on 22 July 2026. PIB calls it the sixth of 16 ASW-SWCs to be commissioned.

INS Malvan has over 80% indigenous content. It also has mine warfare capability.

Why do small craft hunt submarines near the coast?

PIB says these craft are built for shallow water. That is where the short form ASW-SWC comes from. Big destroyers work in deep water. Small craft cover the coast.

For example, INS Malvan is a shallow-water craft. Mine warfare is another of its skills. INS Kamorta, a corvette, was GRSE’s first home-built anti-submarine ship.

Which ship came first in the Kamorta class?

INS Kamorta did, on 23 August 2014. INS Kavaratti is the one people mix up. It was the last of the four, delivered on 18 February 2020.

Do not mix up the two small-craft classes either. Agray belongs to the Arnala class. Malvan belongs to the Mahe class.

Summer 2026 was busy. Six new ships joined in about ten weeks. This card sets them side by side.

What happened on 21 June 2026?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned three ships in Kolkata. They were INS Dunagiri, INS Sanshodhak and INS Agray. The Warship Design Bureau and GRSE designed them. GRSE built them.

More than 200 small firms took part. The three ships have over 75% indigenous content. The day was also World Hydrography Day.

Who commissioned the others?

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presided over INS Mahendragiri on 11 July 2026. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh presided over INS Malvan on 22 July. Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, the Chief of the Naval Staff, presided over INS Nipun on 31 August.

Why does the builder matter?

A shipyard is a clue. Sort the six ships by builder and the list becomes easy. GRSE built three. Mazagon Dock, Cochin Shipyard and Hindustan Shipyard built one each.

For example, a question may ask who built INS Malvan. The answer is Cochin Shipyard. It also builds the Mahe class.

Do two ships of one class share a builder?

Not always. Dunagiri and Mahendragiri are both Nilgiri-class frigates. But GRSE built Dunagiri. Mazagon Dock built Mahendragiri. So a class does not point to one yard.

Not every Navy ship fights. Some ships map the sea floor. Others help divers.

What does a survey ship do?

INS Sanshodhak is the fourth Survey Vessel (Large). It does coastal and deep-water surveys. It collects data on the ocean and the sea floor. It carries underwater vehicles, some with remote control.

PIB lists the earlier survey ships. INS Sandhayak joined in February 2024. INS Nirdeshak followed in December 2024. INS Ikshak joined in August 2025.

What does INS Nipun do?

INS Nipun is a diving support vessel. It is the second of the Nistar class. Hindustan Shipyard in Visakhapatnam built it. The commissioning was at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.

The ship can support saturation, air and heliox diving. It can also help rescue a stuck submarine. PIB says its sister ship is INS Nistar.

INS Nipun is a support ship, not a combatant.

Why does the Navy need ships that do not fight?

Fighting ships need maps of the sea floor. They also need divers who can work safely. Support ships do that work.

For example, a survey ship collects data on the ocean and the sea floor. A diving support vessel like INS Nipun can help rescue a stuck submarine.

Is a support ship a weak warship?

No. It is a different kind of ship. It is not a combatant at all. So in a question about combatants, leave out INS Nipun and INS Sanshodhak.

Many more ships are on the way. This card lists the main ones.

What is left in the frigate and craft lists?

PIB’s list names INS Vindhyagiri as the last Nilgiri-class frigate. On 3 December 2025 it was under construction. PIB’s release of 11 July 2026 counts Mahendragiri as the sixth ship, so Vindhyagiri was still to come.

The anti-submarine craft total 16. Malvan was the sixth to join. So ten were still to come on 22 July 2026 (16 minus 6).

What is the NGMV?

NGMV means Next Generation Missile Vessel. Cochin Shipyard signed a contract for six on 30 March 2023. The value is about Rs 9,805 crore. Deliveries are due to start from March 2027.

Steel cutting for the first ship began in December 2024. The first ship is BY 531. Its keel was laid on 18 September 2026. Steel for the second ship was cut a day earlier, on 17 September.

The NGMVs are planned as high-speed vessels. Each will have a top speed of 33 knots and a crew of 80. They will carry surface-to-surface missile systems.

Why do the dates have so many steps?

A ship is built in stages. This card shows four of them for the NGMV: the contract, steel cutting, keel laying and delivery. Each stage has its own date.

For example, the contract was signed on 30 March 2023. Steel for the first ship was cut in December 2024. The keel was laid on 18 September 2026. Deliveries are due from March 2027.

Is a keel laying the same as joining the Navy?

No. A keel laying is an early step. A commissioning comes at the end. In September 2026 the NGMV had reached the keel stage. It had not joined the Navy.

“Samudra Pradakshina” was a voyage, not a warship. It was the first tri-service, all-women circumnavigation by sail.

What did the crew do?

Women officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force sailed aboard IASV Triveni. AIR reported 10 officers at the flag-off. PIB’s flag-in release speaks of nine who returned to Mumbai.

The expedition left Mumbai on 11 September 2025, flagged off by video link. It was flagged in on 22 July 2026.

The voyage took 314 days. It covered nearly 25,500 nautical miles across four oceans.

What made it a true circumnavigation?

The crew crossed all meridians of longitude. They crossed the Equator twice. They crossed the International Date Line. They rounded the three great capes: Leeuwin, Horn and Good Hope.

Rounding Cape Horn made the crew Cape Horners. The crew had trained for nearly two years.

Why does this voyage belong in a lesson on warships?

It was an armed-forces project, not a warship. Army, Navy and Air Force officers crewed it together. That is why PIB calls it tri-service.

For example, the crew crossed the Equator twice and rounded three great capes. Doing both is what makes a trip a true circumnavigation.

Was IASV Triveni a warship?

No. It was a sailing boat. This is the usual slip. The crew counts also differ by source. AIR gave 10 at the start. PIB spoke of nine at the end.

Several leaders have quoted ship counts. The counts differ because they count different things. This card sets them out with dates.

What did the 2025 and 2026 statements say?

On 15 January 2025 the Prime Minister said 60 large ships were under construction. He put their value at about Rs 1.5 lakh crore. He also said 39 of 40 naval vessels were being built in Indian yards.

A PIB backgrounder of 3 December 2025 said 51 large ships were under construction. It put the value at about Rs 90,000 crore.

On 21 June 2026 the Prime Minister said 45 major naval platforms were under construction. He said India’s defence production had grown from about Rs 40,000 crore in 2014 to nearly Rs 1.8 lakh crore.

What was special about 15 January 2025?

Three ships were commissioned together at Mumbai: INS Surat, INS Nilgiri and INS Vaghsheer. The Prime Minister said it was the first tri-commissioning of a destroyer, a frigate and a submarine.

INS Surat is a destroyer. INS Nilgiri is a frigate. INS Vaghsheer is the sixth and final Scorpene submarine of Project 75.

Why do the ship counts differ?

Each leader counted something different on a different day. The nouns changed too. One count says “large ships”. Another says “major naval platforms”. Always read the noun and the date.

For example, 60 is from 15 January 2025. The number 51 is from 3 December 2025. The number 45 is from 21 June 2026.

Does a lower count mean ships were cancelled?

Not by itself. The sources do not say so. The counts use different words and dates. So never turn the fall from 60 to 45 into a claim about cuts.

Both past questions ask you to name a ship type. This card gives the wording and the traps.

What did the past papers ask?

The three ships joined together in January 2025. Nilgiri is a frigate. Surat is a destroyer. Vaghsheer is a submarine.

How do I answer a ship-type question?

First find the type word in the question. Then match it to the ship. Nilgiri is a frigate. Surat is a destroyer. Vaghsheer is a submarine. All three are combatants.

For example, INS Astradharini is a torpedo launch and recovery vessel. It is not a destroyer or a frigate. A support role is the clue.

What are the traps?

1. Project numbers. P15A is Kolkata. P15B is Visakhapatnam. P17 is Shivalik. P17A is Nilgiri. P28 is Kamorta.
2. Order in the class. Mahendragiri is the sixth Nilgiri-class frigate. Dunagiri is the fifth.
3. Builders. Dunagiri and Agray are GRSE ships. Mahendragiri is a Mazagon Dock ship. Malvan is a Cochin Shipyard ship.
4. Support ships. Nipun and Sanshodhak do not fight.
5. NGMV in September 2026. It was a keel laying, not a commissioning.
6. Ship counts. 60, 51 and 45 come from different dates and wording.