Malabar began as an annual bilateral naval exercise between India and the US in 1992. It has increased in scope and complexity over the years.
Two Indian warships, the indigenously built INS Sahyadri and INS Kolkata, will participate in the 10-day Malabar exercise which will involve the navies of the US, Japan and Australia and begin off the Sydney coast on Friday, the Indian Navy said in a statement on the eve of the multi-nation drills.
The exercise is being hosted by the Royal Australian Navy for the first time.
Malabar began as an annual bilateral naval exercise between India and the US in 1992. It has increased in scope and complexity over the years.
The exercise involving the Quad navies will be conducted in two phases — the harbour and the sea phase. “The harbour phase involves wide-ranging activities such as cross-deck visits, professional exchanges, sports fixtures and several interactions for planning and conducting the sea phase,” the statement said.
“The sea phase will include various complex and high intensity exercises in all three domains of warfare, encompassing anti-surface, anti-air and anti-submarine exercises including live weapon firing drills. The exercise provides an opportunity to the Indian Navy to enhance and demonstrate interoperability and gain from the best practices in maritime security operations from its partner nations.”
An Indian Navy P-8I submarine hunter plane will also take part in the exercise, officials aware of the matter said.