The Indian Navy’s frontline indigenous warships INS Sahyadri and INS Kolkata will participate in exercise MALABAR 2023 scheduled in Sydney from 11-21 August 23 along with vessels and aircraft from the US Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
The MALABAR series of maritime exercises began in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between the Indian Navy and the United States Navy and has grown in stature over the years to include four major navies in the Indo-Pacific region. The 2020 edition saw the first participation of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). This year marks the 27th edition of MALABAR which is hosted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
MALABAR 2023 will take place in two phases. The port phase includes wide-ranging activities such as cross-deck visits, professional exchanges, sports meetings and various interactions for planning and conducting the maritime phase. The Sea Phase will include various complex and high-intensity exercises in all three domains of warfare, including anti-surface, anti-aircraft and anti-submarine exercises, including live weapons firing exercises. The exercise provides an opportunity for the Indian Navy to enhance and demonstrate interoperability and also gain from best practices in partner nations’ maritime security operations.
INS Sahyadri is the third vessel of the in-house designed and built Project-17-class multi-purpose stealth frigates and is currently commanded by Captain Rajan Kapoor. INS Kolkata is the first ship of the in-house designed and built Project-15A class destroyers and is commanded by Captain Sharad Sinsunwal. Both vessels were built at Mazagon Dock Ltd, Mumbai and are equipped with an array of state-of-the-art weapons and sensors to detect and neutralize surface, air and submarine threats.
********
VM/PS