Assets
As of May 2015, there are 20 surface warships of the navy based at INS Jarawa, Port Blair under the A&N Command, up from 15 ships in 2014 and 13 ships in 2011. Naval vessels include Trinkat-class patrol vessel, Mk.3 LCU vessels, Polnochny-C/D class amphibious warfare vessels and the SDB Mk.3 large patrol craft. The port bases amphibious platforms, offshore patrol vessels (OPV) and fast attack crafts (FAC). Since 2013, two Saryu-class patrol vessels have been home-ported at Port Blair. The command provides logistical and administrative support to naval ships which are sent on deployment to East Asia and the Pacific Ocean. On 6 April 2016 INS Karmuk, a missile Corvette ship was re-based to Port Blair from eastern naval command.
For amphibious warfare, the command has a large Landing Ship Tank (LST) that can carry about 220 fully armed troops along with six trucks, 10 main battle tanks and 12 infantry combat vehicles for long duration. For short duration, an 800-men battalion could also be carried. The vessel also has a medium LST, apart from several Landing Craft Utility (LCU) with capacity to carry and beach 35 armed troops. The 108 Infantry Brigade of the Indian Army, comprising three battalions, which includes the 21 Bihar, is deployed to the A&N Command.
Dornier Do 228 maritime patrol craft and Mi 8 helicopters,operating from airfields at Port Blair, Car Nicobar, Campbell Bay and Diglipur maintain surveillance over the sea areas and approaches. The Andaman & Nicobar region of the Indian Coast Guard also falls under the purview of the command. In July 2012, the navy commissioned INS Baaz, a naval air station which is located 300 nautical miles south of Port Blair and is the southernmost air station of the Indian Armed Forces.
Modernization
In 2013, the navy proposed to station a nuclear submarine and a landing deck platform at the islands in the future, and the Indian Air Force has decided to station Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters on the islands along with increasing the number of operational airfields. The army's single brigade is planned to be increased by deploying a division size force(about 15,000 troops) under the command. In 2015, it was reported that under the overall "island development plan", which includes a new naval air station at Campbell Bay, the existing runways at Campbell Bay and Shibpur are to be extended, while more airstrips are proposed in the archipelago and more operational turn-around bases. The number of naval vessels based in the island chain will increase to 32 before 2022. In addition, Japanese war bunkers, constructed during Japanese occupation of the Andaman and Nicobar islands during the World War II, will be revived to bolster security.