The Indian Navy is pursuing home-grown technologies including quantum positioning systems, high-power microwave directed-energy systems, extra-large autonomous underwater vehicles and ramjet engines.
More than 4,000 proposals have been received through the iDEX framework, while procurement approvals exceed Rs 3,500 crore and concluded contracts are worth more than Rs 1,900 crore.
Swavlamban 2026, the Navy’s flagship innovation and indigenisation seminar, will be held in New Delhi on October 26 and 27, featuring more than 100 exhibition stalls.
The Indian Navy has widened its indigenisation drive to include quantum positioning systems, high-power microwave directed-energy systems, extra-large autonomous underwater vehicles and home-grown ramjet engines for fixed-wing aircraft, the vice chief of the naval staff, Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar, said on Monday.
Kochhar was speaking in New Delhi at the curtain-raiser news conference for Swavlamban 2026, the Navy’s flagship seminar on innovation and indigenisation. The fifth edition will be held at the Manekshaw Centre on October 26 and 27.
He said the effort should be judged not only by its size but also by the growing complexity of the problems being tackled. More than 4,000 proposals have reached the Navy from Indian innovators through the Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) framework and about 150 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups are taking part.
Acceptance of necessity (AoN), the first formal approval for a procurement proposal, has been granted for projects worth more than Rs 3,500 crore, the navy vice chief said. Contracts worth over Rs 1,900 crore have been concluded. He said the numbers reflect rising industry interest in the Navy’s requirements and the scale of the opportunity before innovators.
At the curtain-raiser last year, the then vice chief, Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, had put approved AoNs at more than Rs 2,700 crore and executed contracts at nearly Rs 1,500 crore. On those numbers, approved projects have risen by roughly Rs 800 crore in a year, and concluded contracts by about Rs 400 crore.
The event itself has also expanded, Kochhar said. The first edition drew about 800 participants and nearly 3,000 attended last year. This year’s exhibition will have more than 100 stalls.
Asked what new warships or other platforms are expected to be inducted in their timeline, Kochar stated, as far as ships are concerned, “we have 42 platforms which are on order. In addition, 78 platforms and 120 FICs, with an estimated combined value of Rs 2.41 lakh crore, have received Acceptance of Necessity and these are at different stages of procurement process.”
Technology And Tempo
Kochhar said the push comes as technology reshapes warfare. Unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, advanced sensors and networked capabilities are changing how navies gather information, make decisions and operate at sea.
For the Navy, he said, keeping pace means more than adopting new technology. It must be able to develop, integrate and employ the capabilities it needs, and do so quickly.
In reply to a query, he said that the Navy has identified two further priorities, speed and spiral development. Speed means shorter routes for promising ideas to travel from concept and prototype to trials, production and deployment.
Spiral development means building on earlier work and improving it continuously, with each stage absorbing user feedback, trial lessons and technological advances. Kochhar also said technology does not stand still, and the capabilities developed from it should not either.
