Naval modernisation is as much about support and auxiliary vessels as it is about combat platforms. Elaborate with examples.

A navy's combat power is measured by what its destroyers and submarines can deliver on target, but sustained by what its tankers, tenders and rescue ships can supply, repair and recover. India's recent inductions show that support and auxiliary vessels are not peripheral logistics — they convert combat platforms into an enduring, blue-water force.

Support vessels give combat platforms endurance and reach

• Fleet Support Ships (FSS): a Rs 19,000 crore contract with Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) for five ships of over 40,000 tonnes, which carry fuel, water, ammunition and stores so warships can operate for long periods without returning to harbour [1].
• Without at-sea replenishment, India's carrier and destroyer groups cannot sustain missions in the Indian Ocean Region, where India acts as a "first responder" and preferred security partner.

They underwrite survivability and safety of high-value assets

• INS Nistar (commissioned July 2025) and its sister ship Nipun, both built by HSL, are India's first indigenously designed Diving Support Vessels [2][3].
• They serve as the "mother ship" for the Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV), enabling rescue from a distressed submarine and saturation diving up to 300 metres [2].
• A submarine arm without credible rescue cover is an operational risk; this capability, held by only a few navies, directly protects crews and costly platforms.

They deepen indigenisation and diplomatic reach

• The Nistar class incorporates over 80% indigenous content with 120 MSMEs participating, spreading defence-manufacturing capability under Atmanirbhar Bharat [2][4].
• Auxiliaries are also instruments of naval diplomacy — INS Nistar's participation in Exercise Pacific Reach 2025 at Changi, Singapore, built interoperability in submarine rescue [5].

Modernisation, therefore, must be judged by fleet balance rather than frontline tonnage alone. Continued indigenous construction of replenishment, rescue and survey vessels — alongside frigates and submarines — will give India the sustained, self-reliant maritime capability that its SAGAR vision and blue-water ambitions require.