President Draupadi Murmu on Sunday (December 28, 2025) set sail on the west coast aboard the Indian Navy’s frontline submarine INS Waghshir. Murmu is the second President of the country to travel aboard a submarine. Earlier in February 2006, the then President APJ Abdul Kalam had undertaken a sea voyage in an Indian Navy submarine.

Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi was also present with President Draupadi Murmu when he boarded the Kalvari-class submarine from the Karwar naval base in Karnataka, officials said. Let us tell you that the President is also the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Rashtrapati Bhavan shared pictures

The President’s Secretariat shared a post in this regard on the social media platform X. The post said, ‘President Draupadi Murmu boarded Indian Navy’s indigenous Kalvari class submarine INS Waghshir at Karwar Naval Base.’

President Droupadi Murmu embarked the Indian Navy’s indigenous Kalvari class submarine INS Vaghsheer at Karwar Naval Base, Karnataka. The President is undertaking a sortie on the Western Seaboard. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi is accompanying the Supreme… pic.twitter.com/8LWzOkc4Ut

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) December 28, 2025

Pictures have also been shared with the post, in which the President is seen entering the submarine wearing naval uniform and before that accepting the greetings by shaking hands of the naval personnel.

What is the specialty of INS Waghshir?

The sixth and final submarine of the P75 Scorpene project, INS Waghshir, was commissioned into the Navy in January 2025. According to naval officials, it is one of the quietest and multi-purpose diesel-electric submarines in the world. It is designed to perform a variety of missions, including surface combat, anti-submarine operations, intelligence gathering, area surveillance and special operations.

INS Waghshir is equipped with many special technologies

It is equipped with wire-guided torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and advanced sonar systems. This submarine is based on modular construction technology, which allows it to be integrated with technologies such as Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology in the future. The Indian Navy is developing the Karwar Naval Base keeping in mind India’s long-term security interests in the Indian Ocean region.

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Even though political relations between India and America continue to sour, defense cooperation seems to be back on track. Amidst the Malabar exercises, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi is going on a six-day visit to America. The objective of his visit is to strengthen the strong and enduring maritime partnership between the navies of the two countries.

During the visit, the Navy Chief will hold discussions with senior officials of the US Department of War (Defence) and will also meet Admiral Samuel J Paparo, Commander Indo-Pacific Command and Admiral Stephen T Kohler, Commander US Pacific Fleet, besides other senior military officials and dignitaries. The interaction will provide an opportunity to review the ongoing maritime cooperation between the two navies, enhance cross-operational relations and strengthen mechanisms for information sharing and maritime domain awareness.

Indian Navy gave information regarding the visit of Navy Chief

According to Indian Navy spokesperson Captain Vivek Madhwal, the Navy Chief’s visit is aimed at further strengthening the strong and enduring maritime partnership between the Indian Navy and the US Navy, which is a key pillar of the India-US defense partnership.

During this visit, Admiral Tripathi will also hold meetings with major naval institutions and operational commands of the US Navy. The discussions are expected to focus on shared maritime priorities in the Indo-Pacific region, cooperation within multilateral frameworks such as Milan, and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) initiatives.

This is a long-term maritime partnership between India and America based on mutual trust and shared values. The visit of the Naval Chief underlines the Indian Navy’s commitment to further enhance cooperation with the US Navy to realize the vision of a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.

Navy Chief’s visit taking place amid joint exercises of Quad countries

This visit of Admiral Tripathi is taking place at a time when the joint exercise of the navies of India, America, Japan and Australia (Quad countries) has started at the Guam Military Base in the Pacific Ocean (10-18 November). Indian Navy’s warship INS Sahyadri is taking part in this exercise.

Due to the rift in relations between India and America after Operation Sindoor and the tariff war, the meeting of the heads of state of the Quad countries has not taken place. Apart from India and America, Japan and Australia are also members of the Quad organization. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (November 11, 2025) that the tariff dispute with India is going to be resolved. Trump has expressed the possibility of visiting India soon. Trump even said that after the visit the people of India will start loving him again.

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Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi has clearly said that it is very important and will remain today or tomorrow. General Dwivedi’s statement came after the statement of Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh in which he opposed the creation of theater command.

Apart from the release of a book written on Operation Sindoor in the country’s capital Delhi, the Chief of Army, while talking to the media on-camera, said that the theater command will be formed. Because it is very much needed. General Dwivedi also explained why the theater command is needed.

Army Chief gave information about the need for theater command

According to Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, “In today’s time, the battle is not only fighting the army, but BSF, ITBP, ISRO, Civil Aviation, Railways and Intelligence agencies also participate in the fight. In such a situation, the Unity of Command is very important. So the country needs a (top) commander who can give directions to all.”

On the lines of the top armies of the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also insisted on creating a common and integrated command of the country’s armies (Army, Air Force and Navy). The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has targeted to create theater command even in its election manifesto of 2024.

The post of Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) was also created in the year 2019 so that the process of creating theater commands can be easier. The current CDS General Anil Chauhan and Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi are also in favor of creating theater commands in the country.

What did the Air Force chief say about the theater command

However, the Air Force chief has lodged his objection to the creation of theater command. In the Ran-dialogue program held at Army War College, Mhow in Indore last month, Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh advocated to maintain an operational responsibility on the shoulders of the heads of the CDS and the three wings of the army instead of creating the theater command.

Air Force strength will be divided by the formation of theater command

The Air Force chief believes that the Air Force has very few fighter jets and other military aircraft. If the theater command is created, then the challenge of distributing the power of the Air Force will be revealed. Currently, there are 17 different commands of Army, Air Force and Navy in the country. Apart from this, there are three (03) shared commands. But under the reform in the defense sector, only 4-5 commands will remain when the Army, Air Force and Navy are formed.

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