[8] These ships tried to carry out raids on the Pakistani fleet, but were mistakenly hit and sunk by the Indian Air Force on 10 December 1971.

It was the eight sailors who defected from the Pakistan Navy submarine PNS Mangro, under construction in France, that pioneered the formation of the naval element during the Liberation War.

[10] In 1971, it was imperative for the occupation force to keep ports and harbours operative and the sea lines of communication open.

In 2013, the navy deployed BNS Somudra Joy carrying humanitarian assistance worth $1 million.

The aircraft was a Boeing 777-200ER which had gone missing with 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 14 nations during the flight from Malaysia to China.

The search was renewed in May 2014, when an Australian exploration company claimed to have traced aircraft debris in the Bay of Bengal.

[17] Two United States Coast Guard High Endurance Cutters joined the BN in 2013[18] and 2015[19] which are being used as patrol frigates.

[27] To attain underwater operational capabilities, the Bangladesh Navy inducted two off-the-shelf Type 035G (Ming class) submarines from China on 12 March 2017.

[28][29] Bangladesh Navy, with its growing fleet comprising more than 100 small and large ships across different classes, is successfully producing cost-effective world-class warships within its borders.

[31] A full-fledged South Asian largest submarine base, named BNS Sheikh Hasina, was commissioned 19 March 2023 at Pekua in Cox's Bazar.

[38] BN ships regularly participate in exercises with other navies, gaining valuable experience and improving their fighting capabilities.

[40] AMAN, another multinational exercise held every two years in the Arabian Sea, organised by the Pakistan Navy, has also seen participation by BN frigates since 2009.

[43] BNS Abu Bakr took part in 14th Western Pacific Naval Symposium and International Fleet Review-2014 in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China in April 2014.

[45] Somudro Ghurni (Bengali: সমুদ্রঘূর্ণি English: Sea Vortex) is the codename of a series of major naval exercises conducted by the Bangladesh Navy to simulate naval warfare and the protection of the country from external maritime threats, protection of the country's maritime resources, and prevention of smuggling.

During the exercise, the navy deployed most of its fleet, including frigates, corvettes, and maritime patrol aircraft.

As of November 2025, The Bangladesh Navy has five Guided Missile Frigates,[58][59] two patrol frigates, six Corvettes, thirty-eight minor surface combatants of various types (including patrol vessels, missile boats, and mine hunters), and thirty auxiliaries as surface assets.

[34] The construction works of a fleet headquarters at the Sandwip channel of Chittagong with ship berthing facilities is already going on.

[73] Khulna Shipyard, with the collaboration of China's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, built five padma-class patrol vessels that entered navy service in 2013.

[77] BN has issued two tenders for the procurement of four helicopters with anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface vessel warfare (ASuW), over-the-horizon targeting (OTHT), maritime search and rescue (MSAR), medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) and special mission capabilities.

[citation needed] Bangladesh Navy issued a tender for the supply of Technical Data Link (TDL) system.

The system will connect 16 platforms as 2 frigates, 4 corvettes, 1 LPC, 3 shore stations, 2 helicopters, 2 MPAs and two submarines.

[80] In April 2018, Bangladesh Navy issued tender for two X-band navigational radars with helicopter landing control facility for two of its ships.

She added that, there is a plan to induct more maritime patrol aircraft, anti-submarine warfare helicopters and long range MPA in the near future.