New Delhi: The Indian Navy’s largest wargames -- Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (Tropex-21) -- which started in early January, is currently under way with the participation of all operational units of the Indian Navy, including ships, submarines, aircraft and units of the Army, Indian Air Force and Coast Guard. The exercise will end by the third week of February.
“The exercise is being conducted over a vast geographical expanse in the Indian Ocean Region, including its adjunct waters, and is aimed at testing the combat readiness of the Navy in a complex multi-dimensional scenario set in the context of the current geostrategic environment,” the Navy said in a statement. The theatre-level exercise also aims to validate the Navy’s offensive-defence capabilities, safeguard national interests in the maritime domain and promote stability and peace in the Indian Ocean Region.
The conduct of Tropex is being overseen by Naval Headquarters with the participation of all three Indian Navy commands and the Tri-Services Command in Port Blair.
Tropex-21 is in distinct phases, that also test the Navy’s transition from peacetime to hostilities. In the first phase, the Navy had conducted coastal defence exercise “Sea Vigil” along the entire coastline and island territories of India on January 12-13, 2021. This exercise was aimed at validating the coastal defence setup, that was entirely revamped after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.
Exercise Sea Vigil was followed by a large-scale tri-Service joint amphibious exercise Amphex-21, conducted in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on January 21-25. The amphibious exercise was aimed at validating India’s capabilities to safeguard the territorial integrity of its islands and enhancing operational synergy and joint warfighting capabilities among the three services.
The Weapon Workup Phase of Tropex, which ended recently, witnessed multiple “on-target” ordnance deliveries, including missiles, torpedoes and rockets from frontline warships, aircraft and submarines and demonstrated the lethal firepower of the Indian Navy and reaffirmed the Navy’s capability to carry out long-range maritime strikes in the Indian Ocean Region, which is central to meeting its operational challenges and ensuring safe seas and secure coasts.
