For more than five years now, the Indian navy has been looking skyward in its quest of making use of the assets under its command to the maximum extent possible and projects its combat power in the littoral regions to take care of India ’s security and economic interests. In 2005, the then Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee had informed the Indian Parliament that the Indian navy plans to create and sustain a three dimensional, technology enabled network centric system to transform itself into a formidable sea power.

Key to harnessing the full potentials of such an advanced technology driven system lies in the Indian navy’s capability to access “satellite resources” on an uninterrupted basis. Indian navy’s radical shift in its strategic outlook is clearly exemplified by the fact that it is aiming for a global reach from being a regional sea power worried about the threats from China and Pakistan . As pointed out by former Indian navy Chief Admiral Arun Praksah, ”Indian navy is serious about transforming itself into a true blue water navy”. What are the challenges for the Indian Navy to achieve this? How is the navy preparing itself to meet them?