India Shows the Flag in Indian Ocean

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian armed forces have launched a military hardware-intensive exercise in the Arabian Sea, not far from Pakistan's extended maritime domain.

The Navy did not conceal the objectives behind the show of military muscle on India's western seaboard: ``Tropex 17 assumes special significance in the backdrop of the current security scenario. The exercise is aimed at testing combat readiness of the combined fleets of the Indian Navy, and the assets of the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and the Indian Coast Guard,'' said a statement about the month-long exercise that began on January 24.

Tropex stands for Theatre Readiness Operational Exercise (TROPEX) with ships and aircraft drawn from Navy's Western and Eastern Commands. The last edition of the exercise was conducted two years back although the navy is billing the ``Tropex 17'' as an annual exercise.

The current edition will be the largest ever in scale and complexity. The military hardware includes major surface combatants and air assets of the Indian Navy including the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya, nuclear submarine Chakra, Landing Platform Dock (LPD) Jalashwa, the recently commissioned destroyer Chennai, the P-8I long range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft operating alongside Indian Air Force's SU-30 MKI, Jaguars, AWACS, IL-78 Flight Refuelling Aircraft and army infantry units.

''The exercise will be conducted in several phases, both in harbour and at sea, encompassing the various facets of war-fighting and combat operations. It will also strengthen inter-operability and joint operations in a complex environment,'' added the Navy statement.