The Marine Commando Force, better known by its acronym MARCOS, is the special forces branch of the Indian Navy, raised to give India a dedicated capability for special operations in and around water. Modelled in part on the United States Navy SEALs and Britain's Special Boat Service, MARCOS units are trained to operate across sea, air and land, and specialise in maritime counter-terrorism, amphibious reconnaissance, ship and offshore-platform defence, and clandestine raids launched from the sea.

Key facts

  • Parent service: Indian Navy
  • Founded: planning began in 1986; commissioned as the Indian Marine Special Force in February 1987, renamed Marine Commando Force in 1991
  • Founding influence: early officers trained with US Navy SEALs at Coronado and Britain's Special Boat Service
  • Main bases: INS Abhimanyu, Mumbai (original home and tactical training centre); INS Karna, near Visakhapatnam, commissioned in 2016 as a dedicated garrison; detachments at Kochi, Goa and Port Blair
  • Training: roughly seven-and-a-half to eight months of core training, with dropout rates commonly cited above 80 percent

History

The Indian Navy began planning a dedicated special forces unit in April 1986, concluding that existing ship's-diver units were not organised or trained for offensive special operations. Three volunteer officers, drawn from the Navy's diving branch established in 1955, were sent for specialised instruction with the US Navy SEALs and later exchanged training with Britain's Special Boat Service. On their return, they formed the nucleus of the Indian Marine Special Force, formally established in February 1987 at Mumbai. The unit was renamed the Marine Commando Force in 1991 and has since grown from a small experimental cadre into a multi-base force with detachments supporting each of the Navy's operational commands, including a dedicated presence in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to cover India's eastern maritime approaches.

Selection and training

All MARCOS personnel are volunteers drawn from within the Navy, typically selected in their early twenties, and undergo a selection and training pipeline of nearly eight months developed with early assistance from American and British special forces. The curriculum covers combat diving at the Naval Diving School in Kochi, airborne operations and parachute qualification, small-boat handling, close-quarter battle, demolitions, unarmed combat, and counter-terrorism and anti-hijacking drills, along with survival and endurance training designed to replicate the physical and psychological stress of real operations. Reported attrition through the course regularly exceeds 80 percent, among the highest of any Indian special forces selection process, and successful candidates continue on to advanced courses and platform-specific training throughout their careers.

Roles and capabilities

MARCOS units are trained to operate in all three physical environments: underwater and at the sea surface, in the air via parachute or helicopter insertion, and on land during raids or extended reconnaissance missions. Core tasks include special reconnaissance and surveillance in support of amphibious operations, clandestine infiltration and raids against hostile coastal or riverine targets, defence of Indian naval vessels and offshore assets such as oil platforms against terrorist attack, hostage rescue at sea, and counter-piracy and anti-hijacking operations. MARCOS teams have been deployed for high-profile security tasks, including protecting sensitive installations and supporting hostage-rescue operations during major terrorist incidents, and regularly train alongside foreign special forces during bilateral and multilateral naval exercises. Elements of the force also contribute personnel to the tri-service Armed Forces Special Operations Division, extending MARCOS expertise in maritime special operations into joint planning with the Army's Para SF and the Air Force's Garud commandos.