Exercise Malabar 23 – Naval Giants Unleash Fury in Epic Oceanic Battle Simulation

On August 21, 2023, the 27th iteration of Exercise MALABAR reached a successful conclusion on the East Coast of Australia, north of Sydney. The Indian Navy, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF), and the United States Navy (USN) all sent ships, submarines, and planes to take part in the exercise. Exercise MALABAR 23’s harbour phase took place from the 11th through the 15th of August 2023, and the exercise’s sea phase took place from the 16th through the 21st of August 2023.

The P8i Maritime Patrol Aircraft, the Destroyer INS Kolkata, and the Frigate INS Sahyadri were the vessels that represented the Indian Navy. Other elements that took part in the exercise were the Royal Australian Navy ships HMAS Choules and HMAS Brisbane, the United States Navy ship USS Raphael Peralta, the Japanese ship JS Shiranui, submarines, fighter aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft, and shipborne helicopters.

When the ships left Sydney Harbour to begin the maritime phase, the air assets operated out of RAAF Amberley Brisbane. This is where the P-8I Dets were stationed, which included crew members from the US, RAAF, and IN.

In the sea phase of Ex Malabar, intricate and strenuous exercises were conducted in the air, surface, and subsea domains. These exercises also featured cross-deck helicopter operations and live-fire drills with weapons. The naval exercises allowed the four nations to strengthen their combat skills and their capacity to work together and execute more complex maritime operations. The seamless coordination and interoperability of the Indian, Australian, and American maritime patrol aircraft units was achieved by extraordinary coordination and interoperability of air assets. In addition to reiterating the four fleets’ capacity to function as an integrated force, the exercise brought to light their collective dedication to ensuring maritime safety and maintaining regional equilibrium through cooperative training and increased understanding between one another.