Delhi. To strengthen maritime security and strategic cooperation, the navies of India, Japan, US and Australia demonstrated their combat capability under Malabar-2026. These exercises included maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare operations and artillery firing. Apart from this, the navies of the four countries also carried out several activities to test mutual coordination and joint operational capability.
The Indian Navy said on Friday that in the sea phase of Malabar-2026, INS Sahyadri took part in various activities with warships of Japan, America and Australia. The main objective of the exercise was to enhance coordination between the navies of the four countries and strengthen their ability to effectively carry out any joint maritime operation.
Combat capability tested at sea
During this, operational exercises like maritime domain awareness, anti-submarine warfare operations and firing were conducted. Along with this, practice of searching the ship and dealing with suspicious activities was also done. During the sea phase, the navies of the four countries also conducted exercises related to enhancing mutual operational capability. These included the process of transferring supplies and essential items from one ship to another at sea, landing helicopters from one warship to another and evacuating the wounded.
Logistics transported from one ship to another, practice of helicopter landing
The objective of these exercises was to establish better coordination between the navies of the four countries and enhance their ability to jointly conduct maritime operations. This provided an opportunity to further strengthen coordination and operational procedures between warships and their personnel of different navies. Malabar-2026 is a multilateral naval exercise involving India, Japan, the US and Australia. In this, the navies of the four countries are sharing their capabilities and experiences through various operations related to maritime security and mutual cooperation.
Malabar-2026 organized in two phases
The navies of the four countries further strengthened maritime coordination, combat operations capability and shared strategies during this exercise. Upon arrival in Japan, INS Sahyadri was warmly welcomed by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Yokosuka District Commandant Vice Admiral Yagi Koji and Deputy Chief of Indian Mission R. Madhu Sudan was also present. The exercise under 'Malabar 2026' has been conducted in two phases.
INS Sahyadri welcomed on arrival in Japan
In the first phase, activities like professional interaction, exchange of mutual experiences and planning of joint operations took place at the port. After this the sea phase started. The sea phase was very important. During the activities at sea, the navies of the four countries got the opportunity to understand each other's methods of operations and enhance their ability to work jointly. Its objective was to strengthen mutual trust, improve military coordination and advance regional maritime cooperation.