Indian Navy Hosts Multinational Maritime Exercise 'Operation Southern Readiness 26-2' at Kochi

20 July 2026National

The Indian Navy is hosting Operation Southern Readiness 26-2, a multinational maritime training engagement, at the Southern Naval Command, Kochi (Kerala), from 20 to 23 July 2026. Conducted with: The four-day engagement is conducted in partnership with the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) under the India-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 154, which is the CMF's dedicated training task force. Objective: To enhance maritime security cooperation, improve interoperability among partner navies and strengthen professional capabilities in tackling emerging maritime challenges. Training content: A blend of classroom sessions, simulator-based instruction and practical training covering maritime law, maritime domain awareness, information sharing, counter-narcotics operations, force protection, asymmetric threats and the employment of maritime uncrewed systems. Participants: Personnel from over 40 nations are associated with the engagement, with participating countries including Australia, Canada, Japan, Thailand, the UAE, Oman, Djibouti, Seychelles, the USA and the UK.

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Southern Naval Command HQ: Kochi, Kerala (the Indian Navy's training command) | Western Naval Command: Mumbai | Eastern Naval Command: Visakhapatnam | Combined Maritime Forces HQ: Manama, Bahrain | CTF 154 is the CMF's training task force, led by India | Chief of the Naval Staff: Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi

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The Indian Navy hosted the multinational maritime training exercise Operation Southern Readiness 26-2 at Southern Naval Command, Kochi from 20-23 July 2026. • The exercise was conducted with the Combined Maritime Forces under the India-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 154, the CMF's dedicated training task force.

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