India, Japan, US, Australia hold Naval drill.
The Indian Navy’s indigenous frontline warships INS Sahyadri and INS Kolkata will participate in the multilateral naval exercise Malabar 2023 which is scheduled from August 11-21 along with the ships and aircraft from the Quad members which include US Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), officials said on Thursday.
The Malabar series of maritime exercises commenced in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between the Indian Navy and US Navy and currently includes four navies in the Indo-Pacific Region.
The 2020 edition witnessed the maiden participation of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). This year marks the 27th edition of, which is being hosted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
According to officials, the exercise is scheduled to be conducted in two phases– Harbour Phase and Sea Phase.
In the initial Harbour Phase, navies will carry out wide-ranging activities such as cross-deck visits, professional exchanges, sports fixtures and several interactions for planning and conduct of the sea phase.
The Sea Phase will include various complex and high-intensity exercises in all three domains of warfare, encompassing anti-surface, anti-air and anti-submarine exercises including live weapon firing drills.
The exercise will give an opportunity to the Indian Navy to enhance and demonstrate interoperability and also gain from the best practices in maritime security operations from its partner nations.
INS Sahyadri and INS Kolkata
According to the Indian Navy, INS Sahyadri is the third ship of the indigenously designed and built Project-17 class multi-role stealth frigates and is presently commanded by Captain Rajan Kapoor.
INS Kolkata is the first ship of the indigenously designed and built Project-15A class destroyers and is commanded by Captain Sharad Sinsunwal.
Both the ships have been built at Mazagon Dock Limited and are fitted with a state-of-the-art array of weapons and sensors to detect and neutralise threats in surface, air and underwater domains.
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