India, U.S., Japan and Australia set to conduct Malabar 2021 exercise

The Indian government has announced that a joint naval exercise, Malabar 2021, involving India, the United States, Japan, and Australia will be held again this year.

As part of the Malabar 2021 exercises, the Quad navies will conduct amphibious operations involving special forces, live firing, and anti-submarine warfare operations off the coast of Guam in the Indo-Pacific.

The harbour phase of the Malabar naval exercises is scheduled for August 21-24, with the sea phase taking place on August 25-29.

The US Navy is sending three warships, including destroyers, maritime reconnaissance aircraft P 8, anti-submarine warfare helicopters, and special forces. The Indian Navy will be represented by two surface combatants, INS Ranvijay and Frigate INS Shivalik, as well as maritime reconnaissance aircraft P8I, ASW helicopters, and special forces.

The Japanese Navy is sending three surface combatants, a mine-layer submarine, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, ASW helicopters, and special forces. The Australian Navy will send one ship, an ASW helicopter, and special forces to Malabar.

Last year, the 24th edition of the Malabar Naval Exercise was conducted in Visakhapatnam, Bay of Bengal in November 2020. 

Check out Naval Library App to learn more about the specifications of the participating navies’ assets.