India, April 5 --  India is on course to commission up to 19 warships in 2026, the highest single-year induction in its naval history, capping a decade in which more than 40 vessels were built and inducted through Indian shipyards in what naval planners describe as a structural shift from episodic acquisition to continuous production.

The latest additions to the fleet, stealth frigate INS Taragiri and nuclear ballistic missile submarine INS Aridhaman, are part of that larger pattern. The Indian Navy today fields between 135 and 145 ships and submarines, up from a force that grew only fitfully in the preceding decades. More than 50 vessels are currently under construction across Indian shipyards.

By 2035, the fleet is projected to e...