The 27th edition of naval Exercise MALABAR 2023 was held at East Coast of Australia off Sydney, between the Indian Navy (IN), United States Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from August 11-21, 2023.
- The exercise was hosted by RAN and held in Australia for the first time.
Aim:
To enhance interoperability, share maritime security best practices.
Representatives from India:
i.Indian Navy Ship (INS) Sahyadri– It is the third vessel of the indigenous Project-17 class frigates, commanded by Capt Rajan Kapoor.
ii.INS Kolkata– It is the first in the Project-15A class destroyers, under the command of Capt Sharad Sinsunwal.
- Both ships, built at Mumbai, Maharashtra’s Mazagon Dock Ltd, are armed with advanced weaponry and sensors for comprehensive threat detection and response.
iii.P8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft – It was manufactured by Boeing specially for the Indian Navy.
Representatives from other Nations:
Participating units include RAN ships Her or His Majesty’s Australian Ship (HMAS) Choules and HMAS Brisbane, United States Ship (USS) Raphael Peralta, Japanese Ship (JS) Shiranui, Australian F-35 fighter jets, as well as P-8 surveillance aircraft, fighter aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft and shipborne helicopters along with submarines.
Key Points:
i.MALABAR 2023 was conducted in two phases Harbour and Sea. The harbor phase took place from 11-15 August 2023, followed by the sea phase from 16-21 August 2023.
- The Harbour Phase involved ross-deck visits, exchanges, sports, planning.
- The Sea Phase includes various complex and high intensity exercises in all three domains of warfare, encompassing surface, air and under sea domains including live weapon firing drills.
ii.In 2022, it was hosted by Japan off Yokosuka island near the East China Sea.
iii.Commencing in 1992 as a bilateral naval exercise between India and the US in the Indian Ocean, Malabar exercise annual event saw Japan’s inclusion as a permanent participant in 2015. In 2020, Australia’s participation made it a four Quad coalition.
Note: Concurrently, from August 22-24, 2023, 5th edition of the biennial AUSINDEX Maritime Exercise held between the navies of India and Australia off the coast of Sydney.
INS Vagir Achieves Longest Scorpene Submarine Deployment, Travels 7,000 Km to Australia for Exercises
Indian Navy’s INS Vagir, the 5th Kalvari class submarine, sets a new record for the longest deployment of a scorpene-class submarine, covering 7,000 km to reach Australia for joint military exercises.
Key Points:
i.The submarine, commissioned in January 2023, arrived in Fremantle, Australia on August 20, 2023, to engage in exercises alongside RAN units.
ii.The deployment includes basic to advanced Anti-Submarine exercises, involving RAN submarines and Indian Naval P8i aircraft, enhancing collaboration between Indian Navy and RAN.
Recent Related News:
i.The 6th edition of the annual Naval Exercise ‘Ekatha’ between India and Maldives was scheduled to be conducted from 4th June to 3rd July 2023, in Maldives to enhance interoperability in diving and special operations.
ii.The First edition of the India, France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Trilateral Maritime Partnership Exercise was held in the Gulf of Oman from 7th to 8th June 2023.
About Australia:
Capital– Canberra
Currency– Australian Dollar
Prime Minister– Anthony Albanese
