In this episode of OPEN COLLAR, Major Gaurav Arya is joined by Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan (Retd.), Director General of the National Maritime Foundation, to decode India’s accelerating naval expansion and the larger geopolitical play unfolding in the Indo-Pacific. They examine the ₹80,000 crore Great Nicobar Project cleared by the National Green Tribunal, its strategic location near the Strait of Malacca, and why it could become India’s most significant maritime power projection hub. The conversation also unpacks India’s aircraft carrier ambitions, the induction of Dassault Rafale M fighters, the expansion of the Dassault Rafale fleet, and the growing role of Boeing P-8I Poseidon aircraft in countering submarine threats in the Indian Ocean.