TROPEX 2023: Indian Navy’s largest operational exercise culminates in the Arabian Sea

The Indian Navy’s largest operational-level exercise for the year, TROPEX-23, ended in the Arabian Sea earlier this week. The exercise took place over the course of four months from November 2022 to March 2023.

“The overall exercise construct included Coastal Defence exercise Sea Vigil and the Amphibious Exercise AMPHEX. Together, these exercises also witnessed significant participation from the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Coast Guard,” the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.

The theatre of operations for the exercise, which took place in the Indian Ocean including the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, extended approximately 4300 nm from North to South upto 35 deg 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. Over 70 Indian Navy ships, six submarines, and more than 75 aircraft participated in TROPEX 23.

“The culmination of TROPEX 23 brings to an end an intense operational phase for the Indian Navy that commenced in Nov 2022,” the Ministry of Defence said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spent a day at sea on the recently commissioned Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant on March 6 as part of the last Joint Phase. He reviewed the Indian Navy's operational readiness and material readiness, during which the Navy displayed operational manoeuvrings and many aspects of combat operations, including deck operations of indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and live weapon firings.

Addressing the Fleets, Defence Minister Singh praised the Indian Navy's operational readiness and emphasized that the nation looks to the Navy to make sure that our adversaries’ economic lifelines and military capabilities are disrupted to the extent where their efforts to wage war can no longer be sustained.

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.

The Defence Minister complimented the Indian Navy for being at the forefront of the ‘Make in India’ Initiative and leveraging the path of Aatmanirbharta to be ‘Combat Ready, Credible, Cohesive and Future Proof’.