Indian Navy Notifies Completion Of Four-month-long War Exercise TROPEX-23

The Indian Navy on Friday announced its major functioning, “Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise for 2023” (TROPEX-23) completion.

It added the exercise will culminate this week in the Arabian Sea after successfully running for four months from November 2022 to March 2023.

According to reports the exercise set in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), including the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal is extended approximately 4,300 nautical miles north to south up to 35 degrees south and 5,000 nautical miles from the Persian Gulf to the northern coast of Australia, extending over 21 million squares of nautical miles.

Till now nearly 70 Indian Navy ships, six submarines and over 75 aircraft have actively participated in the TROPEX-23.

Meanwhile, these warships are supported by both the western and eastern naval fleets. Both fleets alternatively follow the sail every year, while the western fleet sails to the Bay of Bengal, the eastern fleet sails to the Arabian Sea the following year. And part of the fleet is designated as the enemy ‘Red Force’, taking place as a “Blue Force” an Indian Navy component.

In the transition from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal or vice versa, the fleet carries out various maneuvers to ensure its battle-ready status for TROPEX, when it begins.

The overall exercise includes the warship’s combat firing phase that fires torpedoes, depth charges, surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-surface missiles in order to ensure that the warships’ ordnance is firing as it should.

Meanwhile, the TROPEX-23 also included a coastal defence component, Exercise Sea Vigil and an amphibious component, Exercise AMPHEX. Two exercises witnessed significant participation from the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Coast Guard.

Reports suggest the culmination of TROPEX-23 ends an intense operational phase for the Indian Navy that commenced in November 2022. And on the final joint phase of the exercise Defence Minister Rajnath Singh joined in to spend a day at sea, boarding India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1), INS Vikrant.

Singh, reviewed the Navy’s operational preparation and material readiness wherein the Navy demonstrated operational manoeuvers and various facets of combat operations including the indigenous LCA deck operations and live weapon firings.

He further accoladed the Eastern and Western Naval Fleets and said the country relies on the Navy to ensure that the economic lifelines and military capabilities of rivals are disrupted.