Maritime Domain Awareness: How India Watches Its Seas

What is the “maritime domain”?

The maritime domain is everything on, under, over and next to the sea. It includes ships, ports, coasts, the seabed and the air above. It also includes people and cargo.

Awareness means knowing what is there and what it is doing. It also means spotting what looks wrong.

Why is it more than watching?

Seeing a ship is only step one. You must then tell if it is a fishing boat, a trader or a threat. That needs data from many sources, joined together.

The joined view is called a common operational picture. Everyone then works from the same map.

What went wrong in 2008?

In November 2008, attackers came to Mumbai by sea in a hijacked boat. The attacks are called 26/11. They showed that no one body saw the whole picture of the coast.

India then reset who guards what at sea.

Who guards which layer?

After 26/11, the Navy got charge of overall maritime security. The Coast Guard got coastal security in territorial waters. State marine police cover the shallow inshore waters. (Source: PIB) (Source: Indian Coast Guard)

The Coast Guard also links central and state bodies. Its full story is in Indian Coast Guard.

What watches from the coast?

The Coastal Surveillance Network is a chain of radars. Its first phase put radar stations at 46 places along the coast and islands. Cameras and ship-tracking sensors add to it. (Source: PIB via GlobalSecurity) (Source: IDSA)

A later phase adds more radars and mobile units. Reports differ on the exact counts, so learn the first-phase number only.

What watches from the air?

The P-8I is the Navy’s long-range patrol aircraft. It hunts submarines and ships. Twelve are in service, based at INS Rajali, Arakkonam. Six more have been discussed, but no signed deal is confirmed. (Source: GlobalSecurity) (Source: Shephard)

India also plans 31 MQ-9B drones, with 15 SeaGuardians for the Navy. Reports put the cost near USD 3.99 billion. Deliveries are expected from about 2029. (Source: The Tribune) (Source: Aviacionline)

See Indian Military Transport and Maritime Patrol Aircraft for more aircraft.

What watches from space?

GSAT-7R (CMS-03) was launched on 2 November 2025 on an LVM3 rocket. It is the Navy’s heaviest communication satellite. It replaces GSAT-7, called Rukmini, launched in 2013. (Source: The Tribune) (Source: Janes)

It links ships, submarines, aircraft and shore centres across the Indian Ocean. Link it with Navigation Technology when you revise.

What are IMAC and NC3I?

The Information Management and Analysis Centre, IMAC, is at Gurugram. The Navy and Coast Guard run it together. It was set up after 26/11 as the nodal centre for maritime data.

It is the hub of the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence network, NC3I. Reports say NC3I links 51 Navy and Coast Guard nodes along the coast and islands. (Source: IDSA) (Source: ORF)

What is IFC-IOR?

The Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region sits inside IMAC. The Navy launched it in December 2018. (Source: The Week)

Countries that sign white shipping agreements with India can send liaison officers to it. White shipping means merchant ship data. Warship movements are not shared. (Source: ORF)

What is INS Samarthak?

INS Samarthak is a multi-purpose vessel. It was commissioned at Karwar, Karnataka, on 16 October 2026. The Vice President commissioned it at INS Kadamba. (Source: AIR News)

It is 107 metres long and displaces 3,750 tonnes. It was built by L&T at Kattupalli. Reports put its indigenous content near 75%. (Source: Swarajya)

Its main job is to test new weapons, sensors and unmanned systems. It can also support surveillance and patrol. Reports differ on how many sister ships will follow.

What is INS Mangrol?

INS Mangrol is an anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft, or ASW-SWC. It was commissioned at Mumbai on 12 October 2026. It is the third of eight such craft from Cochin Shipyard. (Source: Marine Insight)

It has an Abhay hull sonar and light torpedoes. More than 80% of it is made in India. Shallow water is hard for big ships, so small craft like this cover the coast. (Source: Devdiscourse)

What is Sagar Kavach?

Sagar Kavach is a coastal security drill run by the Coast Guard. The Navy, Customs, coastal police and port agencies take part. It tests responses to simulated threats such as infiltration, smuggling and piracy. (Source: The Week)

In 2025, one round ran on 19–20 November along the Maharashtra and Goa coast. Another ran in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 13–14 November. (Source: Nicobar Times)

What is SAREX?

SAREX is the National Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise. The 12th edition was held off Paradip, Odisha, on 8 October 2026. Observers from 30 countries attended. (Source: OdishaBytes)

The drill imagined an aircraft crashing into a container ship. Coast Guard ships, aircraft and Navy ships took part. (Source: Deccan Chronicle)

Three new steps in India’s sea watch

• [First] INS Samarthak was commissioned at Karwar on 16 October 2026. It is a 107-metre multi-purpose vessel built by L&T at Kattupalli. The Navy will use it to test weapons, sensors and unmanned systems. So what: it gives the Navy a home base for uncrewed sea and air assets. (Source: AIR News) (Source: Swarajya)
• [Structural shift] INS Mangrol was commissioned at Mumbai on 12 October 2026. It is the third of eight anti-submarine shallow water craft built by Cochin Shipyard. More than 80% of it is made in India. So what: shallow coastal waters now get dedicated submarine hunters. (Source: Marine Insight) (Source: Devdiscourse)
• [Mains fodder] The 12th National Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise, SAREX-2026, ran off Paradip on 8 October 2026. Observers from 30 countries watched it. So what: search and rescue shares sensors and ships with the security watch, and it builds trust in the region. (Source: OdishaBytes) (Source: Deccan Chronicle)