The Western Naval Command is a formation of the Indian Navy

Indian Navy

The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...

. It has its HQ in Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

 and is commanded by the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, currently Vice Admiral D. K. Joshi. The WNC is the sword arm of the Indian Navy and naval operations conducted on the western seaboard would be central to the outcome of any conflict at sea against Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

The fleet at the WNC is based under Flag Officer Maharashtra Area (FOMA) and provides naval defence in the sensitive north Arabian Sea

Arabian Sea

The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...

 adjacent to Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, India's traditional enemy. The WNC is equipped with submarine pens, a carrier dock and main maintenance dockyards. The first phase of Project Seabird, completed in 2005 involved the construction of a large new naval base

Naval base

A naval base is a military base, where warships and naval ships are deployed when they have no mission at sea or want to restock. Usually ships may also perform some minor repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usually stay on the ships but are undergoing maintenance while...

, INS Kadamba

INS Kadamba

INS Kadamba is part of an initiative of the Indian Navy to develop a blue water navy and to acquire strategic depth. The project was first envisioned by the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson during the 1980s...

, at Karwar

Karwar

Karwar is the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, India. It is a seaside town situated on the banks of the Kali river which is on the west coast of the Indian peninsula. The town lies about 15 kilometres south of the Karnataka–Goa border and 519 km north-west...

 in Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, for exclusive naval use.

The Western Fleet is the two-star level operational formation of the Western Naval Command. It utilizes Mumbai and Karwar as its home ports, with its HQ in Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

. INS Viraat

INS Viraat

INS Viraat is a Centaur class aircraft carrier currently in service with the Indian Navy. INS Viraat is the flagship of the Indian Navy, the oldest carrier in service and one of two aircraft carriers in the Indian Ocean Region.The Viraat was completed and commissioned in 1959 as the Royal Navy's...

 is the Flagship of the Western Fleet.

The Carrier Battle Group of the Western Fleet has INS Viraat

INS Viraat

INS Viraat is a Centaur class aircraft carrier currently in service with the Indian Navy. INS Viraat is the flagship of the Indian Navy, the oldest carrier in service and one of two aircraft carriers in the Indian Ocean Region.The Viraat was completed and commissioned in 1959 as the Royal Navy's...

 (Aircraft Carrier), Delhi Class Destroyer, Talwar Class Frigate, along with Sindhughosh Class Submarine. The Naval Aviation is provided by Sea Harrier Strike Aircraft along with early warning Kamov Helicopters.

Full fledged shipbuilding facilities on the western seaboard include the Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai, the Goa Shipyard Limited

Goa Shipyard Limited

Goa Shipyard Limited is one of India's leading shipyards. It is located on the West Coast of India at Vasco da Gama, Goa at . It was established in 1957, originally by the Portuguese-India govt as "Estaleiros Navais de Goa", to build barges to be used in Goa's growing mining industry, which took...

 and the Cochin Shipyard

Cochin Shipyard

Cochin Shipyard Limited is the largest ship building and maintenance facility in India. It is part of a line of maritime related facilities in the port-city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India....

 Ltd in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, which is India's largest repair dry dock.