Anti-submarine warfare is emerging as the decisive naval competency in the Indian Ocean. Evaluate India's preparedness and the role of foreign partnerships.

Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) means detecting, tracking and neutralising hostile submarines. Parliament's Standing Committee on Defence names China and Pakistan as the Navy's main threats, and both are in or near the Indian Ocean [1]. India's ASW preparedness is improving but uneven. Foreign partnerships make crews more skilled but cannot replace ships and aircraft.

Preparedness: Strengths

• Home-built coastal ASW: 16 ASW Shallow Water Craft are planned [2]. INS Arnala was commissioned in June 2025 [3]. INS Mangrol, the third Mahe-class craft, followed on 12 Oct 2026 [4].
• Ships on order: 65 ships and submarines are under construction [1].

Preparedness: Gaps

• Long delays: the Project-75 submarines were due by December 2017, but the last one was commissioned only in January 2025 [1]. A 2019 contract for eight ASW craft allowed 84 months for delivery [5].
• Too few aircraft: the Navy is short of reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters [1].
• Funding gap: for 2021–26, the Ministry expected ₹9.01 lakh crore for capital outlay against ₹17.46 lakh crore needed, a 48% shortfall [1].

Role of Foreign Partnerships Contributions

• Operational skill: KONKAN-26, held off Plymouth, paired INS Trishul with HMS Sutherland, a Duke-class ASW frigate. It included ASW drills and weapon firings [6].
• Outside evaluation: FOST, the Royal Navy's sea-training authority, ran the exercise [6].
• Larger-scale practice: KONKAN-25 brought INS Vikrant's carrier battle group together with the UK Carrier Strike Group, including anti-submarine exercises [7].
• Technology and regional cooperation: a 2024 Statement of Intent commits India and the UK to co-design electric propulsion for Indian naval ships [8]. Both countries also plan a Regional Maritime Security Centre of Excellence under IPOI [9].

Limits

• Exercises train crews but add no ships or aircraft.
• The claimed gains come only from the government's own release, with no independent assessment [6]. Under FOST, the UK also sets the standards.
• Exercising far from home takes scarce ships away from the Indian Ocean [1].

Verdict: India's preparedness is moderate. Home-built programmes are moving, but delays and the shortage of aircraft hold them back. Partnerships multiply India's strength but cannot substitute for its own ships and aircraft.

India is building ASW capacity at home and improving it with partners, but delivery of ships and aircraft lags behind plans. Three steps would turn partnerships into lasting capability: complete procurements on schedule, as the Standing Committee urged [1]; finalise the India-UK agreement on electric propulsion [9]; and shape KONKAN drills around Indian Ocean threats. This also serves the goal of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.