Indian Navy to Host MILAN-2024 Multilateral Naval Exercise

On 18th February 2024, the Indian Navy announced that it is all set to conduct the 12th edition of the multilateral naval exercise MILAN from 19th to 27th February, 2024 at Visakhapatnam. Over 50 countries have been invited to participate in the mega event.

About MILAN

MILAN is a biennial congregation of navies conducted by the Indian Navy since 1995 at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and later biennially on the mainland to promote “Camaraderie, Cohesion and Collaboration” between regional and extra regional navies.

Participating Nations

Delegations from nearly 50 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, North and South America have confirmed joining, making it historically the largest MILAN exercise yet in terms of participation. 15 foreign naval ships and maritime patrol aircrafts would also be part of sea drills.

Scale of Activities

The Indian Navy plans to deploy over 20 frontline battleships including INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant aircraft carriers, 50 naval fighter jets like MiG-29Ks and Poseidon-8Is along with a fleet of submarines and destroyers for MILAN sea exercises spanning the Bay of Bengal.

Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said that this will be the first time that aircraft carriers, INS Vikrant and Vikramaditya will take part in Milan 2024.

Notable Arrivals

The arrival of the USS Halsey (DDG-97), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer of the United States was considered significant.

Arrival of notable frigates, vessels, and destroyers, including HMAS Warramunga of the Royal Australian Navy, JS Sazanami of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force, and HTMS Prachuap Khiri Khan (OPV 552) of the Royal Thai Navy were also observed. These vessels, alongside Corvette 20 of the Vietnam People’s Navy, displayed international collaboration.

Focus Areas

The key focus would be honing operational compatibility, advancing multilateral naval cooperation and collectively securitizing global commons across Indian Ocean Region through advanced naval drills.

Cultural Exchanges

MILAN also fosters cultural exchanges, dialogues, sports and city parades among participating contingents reinforcing strategic trust and interoperability.

Other activities of Indian Navy

Currently, the Indian Navy is undertaking two major operations — the anti-piracy operation and anti-drone operation.

Under the anti-drone operation, the Navy is supporting merchant ships which are in distress, including that of other countries. The Navy has deployed several warships in the Arabian Sea for anti-drone operations, including P8I aircraft and MQ9 drones.

Under the anti-piracy operation, the Navy has deployed about four ships to tackle pirates.

Category: Defence Current Affairs