Indian Navy concludes annual TROPEX exercise

New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS) The Indian Navy Friday concluded its annual Theatre Level Readiness and Operational Exercise (TROPEX), a month-long drill encompassing all dimensions of maritime warfare.

"This month-long war drill encompassed all dimensions of maritime warfare, and witnessed participation of around 50 ships and submarines with over 70 aircraft from three naval commands," a statement said.

The exercise also witnessed participation of units from the India Air Force and the Indian Coast Guard.

The area of operations spanned the Arabian Sea and northern Indian Ocean and was aimed at validating the Indian Navy's concept of operations.

Two carrier task forces were simultaneously deployed, with both INS Viraat and INS Vikramaditya operating with their integral flights in an operational scenario. This assumes significance as it makes the Indian Navy only the second behind the US Navy presently capable of deploying more than one carrier task force at sea.

TROPEX also saw extensive deployment of the nuclear submarine INS Chakra, the P8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft, the recently commissioned guided missile destroyer INS Kolkata and anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kamorta.

"The exercise provided the right opportunity for the navy to integrate these acquisitions into its war-fighting concepts. TROPEX-15 also served to reinforce the Indian Navy's offensive capabilities across all dimensions, including Network Centric Operations, wherein, the indigenous satellite Rukmani was extensively utilised," the statement said.

"The navy also underscored its Op Logistics capability to effectively sustain fleet operations for extended periods at large distances," it added.