Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while commending the brave and prompt response by the Indian Navy to recent incidents of piracy and missile attacks, exhorted the Commanders to remain poised for operations across the spectrum of conflict.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while commending the brave and prompt response by the Indian Navy to recent incidents of piracy and missile attacks, exhorted the Commanders to remain poised for operations across the spectrum of conflict.

He was addressing the Naval Commanders’ Conference, the Ministry of Defence said.

The Conference was conducted in two-phases – one at sea where the Minister was shown operations by both aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant. The second phase of proceedings, held at New Delhi (March 7-8), included a review of major operational, materiel, infrastructure, logistics and personnel-related initiatives.

The naval leadership reviewed existing and future plans, including capability enhancements in the island territories, to mitigate contemporary and future challenges in the maritime domain. Service Chiefs of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force also engaged with the Naval Commanders, sharing their assessment of the operating environment, outlining readiness levels to defend national interests amidst prevailing and evolving security challenges.

The inaugural session of the Conference was held onboard the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

On the sidelines of the conference, Naval Commanders also interacted with various ‘think tanks’ yesterday. The forum provided an opportunity to engage with MSMEs, innovators and academia to deliberate ways to further enhance self-reliance in defence production.