70 ships, 6 submarines and over 75 aircraft participate in Tropex exercise

New Delhi: The Indian Navy's biggest-ever biennial exercise 'Tropex' witnessed participation of around 70 ships, six submarines and more than 75 aircraft and it covered over 21 million square nautical miles, Navy officials said on Thursday.

A series of complex drills and manoeuvres featuring almost all assets of the Navy was a major highlight of the 'Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise' (Tropex) that culminated this week in the Arabian Sea, they said.

The exercise, which began in November last, also witnessed significant participation from the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Coast Guard.

The overall exercise construct included coastal defence exercise 'Sea Vigil' and the Amphibious exercise 'AMPHEX'.

"Set in the Indian Ocean including the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, the theatre of operations for the exercise extended approximately 4,300 nautical miles (nm) from North to South up to 35 degree South Latitude and 5000 nm from Persian Gulf in the West to North Australia coast in the East, spanning an area of over 21 million square nautical miles," Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.

He said Tropex witnessed participation of approximately 70 Indian Navy ships, six submarines and more than 75 aircraft.

"The culmination of the exercise brings to an end an intense operational phase for the Indian Navy that commenced in November 2022," he said.

As part of the final phase, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spent a day at sea on board the newly commissioned indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on March 6.

He reviewed the Indian Navy's operational preparedness and material readiness wherein the Navy demonstrated operational manoeuvres and various facets of combat operations, including deck operations of indigenous light combat aircraft and live weapon firings.

"While addressing the fleets, he lauded the operational preparedness of the Indian Navy and emphasised that the country looks up to the Navy to ensure that the economic lifelines and military capabilities of our adversaries are disrupted to the extent where their warfighting endeavours can no longer be sustained," the Navy said in a statement.

He also stated that he is fully reassured that the Indian Navy is wholly capable of safeguarding India's national interests in the maritime domain and will thwart the diabolical designs of any potential adversaries who seek to threaten India's peaceful existence, he said.

Singh complimented the Indian Navy for being at the forefront of the 'Make in India' initiative and leveraging the path of "aatmanirbharta" (self-reliance) to be "combat ready, credible, cohesive and future proof", the Navy said.