Military leadership asks Navy to maintain combat readiness, boost surveillance

Indian defence leadership has urged naval commanders to maintain a high level of combat readiness and enhance maritime surveillance, citing the nation's energy security concerns in the volatile West Asia region. During the Naval Commanders’ Conference 2026, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasized India's expanding strategic duties in the maritime domain and highlighted the necessity to bolster maritime surveillance, analytical capabilities, and operational flexibility.

Navy Chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, who inaugurated the conference, assessed the current maritime security landscape and the Navy's operational stance. He stressed the criticality of preserving a robust combat-ready posture, agility, and responsiveness while expediting technology adoption and capability enhancement to counter contemporary and emerging challenges across the maritime domain.

General N S Raja Subramani, Chief of Defence Staff, acknowledged the Indian Navy as a vital strategic force multiplier and praised its ongoing efforts towards technology integration, self-reliance, and safeguarding India's energy security. He underscored the rapidly evolving nature of warfare and stressed the urgent need for accelerated technology transformation, seamless data sharing, heightened resilience, and sustained operations, backed by improved jointness and integration across the armed services.

Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth engaged with naval commanders and shared insights on the present security environment. The discussions emphasized the importance of strengthening tri-service cohesion, interoperability, and integrated responses to emerging security challenges. The meetings with the Chiefs of Defence Staff and Army provided naval leadership with an opportunity to discuss the changing nature of warfare, capability development, and the growing significance of combined operations in addressing emerging security concerns.

During the subsequent sessions of the three-day conference, naval leadership will engage in in-depth discussions on various aspects, including operations, material, logistics, human resources, training, force development, and the integration of emerging technologies. Measures to optimize force levels, bolster combat readiness, and expedite capability enhancement will also be reviewed, officials reported.