23-Mar-2023: Annual bilateral maritime exercise
Konkan 2023, the annual bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy, was held from 20 to 22 Mar 23 off the Konkan coast in the Arabian Sea.
INS Trishul, a guided missile frigate, and HMS Lancaster, a Type 23 guided missile frigate, participated in this edition and undertook multiple maritime drills to enhance interoperability and imbibe best practices. The exercises covered all domains of maritime operations, air, surface and sub-surface, and included gunnery shoots on surface inflatable target ‘Killer Tomato’, helicopter operations, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare drills, Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS), ship manoeuvres and exchange of personnel.
The exercise yielded excellent training value to personnel of both navies. A high level of professionalism and enthusiasm was also evident during its conduct. The focus personnel exhibited on op-readiness, enhancing interoperability and improving the ability to conduct joint operations will go a long way in bolstering the combined efforts of the IN and RN to strengthen maritime security and uphold a rules-based order in the region.
16-Mar-2023: Exercise La Perouse
Indian Navy’s indigenously built guided missile frigate, INS Sahyadri and fleet tanker, INS Jyoti participated in the third edition of the multilateral exercise La Perouse conducted from 13 - 14 March 2023. The exercise was conducted in the Indian Ocean Region, and was aimed at enhancing maritime domain awareness and optimising maritime coordination amongst the participating navies in the Indo-Pacific Region.
In addition to Indian Naval ships, the exercise witnessed participation of HMAS Perth from the Royal Australian Navy, FS Dixmude and FS La Fayette from the French Navy, JMSDF ship Suzutsuki from Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force along with Type SH 60 J Helicopter, HMS Tamar from the Royal Navy and USS Charleston the United States Navy. The two day exercise provided all the participating navies an opportunity to undertake complex and advanced naval operations involving replenishment at sea, surface warfare drills, anti-air and air-defence exercises, cross deck helicopter operations and tactical manoeuvres in a joint manner suitable for seamless maritime operations.
INS Sahyadri, is an indigenously designed and built guided missile stealth frigate fitted with state-of –the art weapons and sensors, which makes her capable of detecting and neutralising air, surface and sub-surface threats. INS Jyoti is a fleet tanker capable of providing prolonged sustenance at sea to the fleet. Both the ships are a part of Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam and function under the operational command of the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.
16-Mar-2023: Exercise Sea Dragon 23
A P8I aircraft of the Indian Navy arrived at Guam, USA on 14 Mar 23 to participate in ‘Exercise Sea Dragon 23’, the third edition of the coordinated multi-lateral ASW exercise for Long Range MR ASW aircraft, conducted by the US Navy.
The exercise scheduled from 15-30 Mar 23, would stress on coordinated anti-submarine warfare amongst the participating countries. The complexity and scope of these exercises has increased steadily over the past years to include advanced ASW drills.
Ex Sea Dragon 23 will test the capabilities of participating aircraft in tracking simulated and live underwater targets, whilst also sharing mutual expertise. The Exercise would witness representation by an Indian Navy P8I, along with P8A of the US Navy, P1 from the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, CP 140 from the Royal Canadian Air Force and P3C from the RoKN.
The Exercise aims to achieve high levels of synergy and coordination between the friendly navies, which is based on their shared values and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific.