Indian Navy: Commands, Ranks, Insignia and Operational Bases

The primary objective of Indian Navy is to secure the nation’s maritime borders; have greater influence of India in maritime interests, further maritime trade and

They show a greater influence in India’s maritime area of interest, to further the nation’s political, economic and security objectives.

Commands of Indian Navy

The Indian Navy operates three Commands. Each Command is headed by a Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief in the rank of Vice Admiral. The location of these commands are as follows:

• Western Naval Command →Mumbai
• Eastern Naval Command → Vizag
• Southern Naval Command → Kochi

Operational Bases

The major operational bases of Indian Navy are located at Vizag, Mumbai, Kochi and Chennai. Further, the INS Kadamba at Karwar was commissioned in 2005 as first such base of Indian Navy which does not share port facilities with commercial shipping. This base was built under Project Seabird.

Ranks and Insignia

The Highest rank in Indian Navy is Admiral of the Fleet, which is like Field Marshal in Indian Navy, is a wartime or ceremonial rank. No officer of Indian Navy has been so far awarded this rank. The second highest rank is of Admiral, which is the Chief of the Naval Staff. The other officers include Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral, Commodore, Captain, Commander, Lt. Commander, Lieutenant and Sub-lieutenant. Further, there are Junior Commissioned Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers in the Indian Navy.

Naval Air Arm and Marine Commandos

The Naval Air Command is one of the important components of Indian Navy which consists of MiG-29Ks fighter planes and Sea Harrier Jets that operate from aircraft carrier INS Viraat and INS Vikramaditya. MARCOS or Marine Commando is an special force raised by Indian Navy in 1987 for special operations, amphibious warfare and counter-terrorism.