Tropex 2014
The Indian Navy’s major annual exercise Tropex (Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise) concluded on February 28, 2014. The exercise involved large-scale naval manoeuvres in all three dimensions, viz. surface, air and underwater, across the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.
The month-long exercise was aimed to assess the operational readiness of naval units, validate the Navy’s war-fighting doctrine and integrate newly included capabilities in its ‘Concept of Operations’. Around 60 ships and submarines, and 75 aircraft took part in this exercise, along with participation of units from the Indian Air Force and Indian Coast Guard. The exercise also saw the ‘maiden’ participation by the newly acquired P-8I Long Range Maritime Patrol aircraft and the nuclear submarine Chakra.
The exercise also provided the Indian Navy with an opportunity to validate its network-centric warfare capabilities, with effective utilisation of the recently launched Indian Navy’s Satellite, GSAT 7. SP