The Indian Navy’s flagship Theatre Level Operational Exercise (TROPEX) 2025 successfully concluded after an intensive three-month operational campaign. Serving as a vital platform, the exercise validated the Navy’s operational strategies and strengthened its combat readiness.
TROPEX 2025 encompassed multiple strategic components, including the Amphibious Exercise (AMPHEX), a joint work-up phase focusing on precision targeting, and rigorous Cyber and Electronic Warfare training. Additionally, the Tactical Phase assessed the Navy’s ability to operate in a dynamic threat environment, ensuring seamless coordination among various forces.
Spanning the vast Indian Ocean, including the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, the exercise covered an operational theatre extending approximately 4,300 nautical miles from north to south, reaching 35 degrees South Latitude, and 5,000 nautical miles from the Strait of Hormuz in the west to the Sunda and Lombok Straits in the east.
The exercise witnessed the participation of 65–70 Indian Naval ships, 9–10 submarines, and over 80 aircraft of various types. It also featured extensive joint operations with the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and Indian Coast Guard. Key assets included Sukhoi-30, Jaguar, C-130, Flight Refueller, and AWACS aircraft, alongside over 600 infantry troops and more than 10 Coast Guard ships.
By achieving high operational synergy and flawlessly executing theatre-level scenarios with other services, TROPEX 2025 reinforced the Indian Navy’s capability to counter diverse security threats. The exercise underscored the Navy’s commitment to maintaining a combat-ready, credible, and future-focused force, ensuring the protection of India’s maritime interests in an increasingly complex security environment.
TROPEX 2025
The TROPEX 2025 exercise features an extensive deployment of over 65 Navy vessels, nine submarines, and more than 80 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. Its primary objective is to enhance warfighting readiness by preparing forces to tackle a range of threats, including conventional, non-conventional, and hybrid challenges. This exercise integrates combat operations across the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard, reinforcing the principles of joint warfare in contemporary conflict scenarios.
Conducted in multiple phases, TROPEX 2025 begins with a Harbour Phase focused on planning, logistics, and briefings, followed by a Sea Phase where complex maritime operations take place. These include live weapon firings, cyber and electronic warfare (EW) drills, combat exercises, and an amphibious operation, AMPHEX, which ensures seamless coordination between land and naval forces.
A Glimpse into History
TROPEX has a rich history of evolving narratives since its inception in 2005. What started as a modestly comprehensive exercise has gradually expanded both in scope and scale. Here’s a look at the key milestones in past editions:
TROPEX 2005: Held by the Western Naval Command, this iteration focused on combat readiness and tactics in the coastal waters of Goa.
TROPEX 2006: This exercise showcased amphibious warfare capabilities. Notably, during the second phase, the Indian Army, supported by the Indian Navy, conducted a successful beach assault on Goa, capturing a beachhead. This exercise highlighted the collaboration between various branches of the Indian Armed Forces and demonstrated their ability to achieve military objectives through joint resource allocation from sea to land.
TROPEX 2007: Characterized by the active participation of all three services, this edition emphasized live weapon firing and new operational methods.
TROPEX 2009: Focused on amphibious operations at Madhavpur-Ghed Beach in Gujarat, with significant troop movements.
TROPEX 2010 Live Firing: Held along India’s eastern seaboard, this phase concentrated on integrating military units into live weapon engagements. Major surface combatants, including the carrier INS Viraat, conducted mock surface force engagements, showcasing the Navy’s operational prowess.
TROPEX 2014 Satellite Utilisation: A milestone for the Indian Navy, this edition saw the first successful validation of network-centric warfare capabilities through the satellite GSAT-7, marking India’s advancing role in naval operations in space.
TROPEX 2015 Two-Carrier Operations: This edition was particularly significant for the simultaneous deployment of two aircraft carrier battle groups—INS Vikramaditya and INS Viraat. It demonstrated India’s ability to conduct multi-carrier sea operations and enhanced the Navy’s capabilities across various forms of warfare, including net-centric operations.
TROPEX 2021 Weapon Workup Phase: This phase involved successful precision strikes from frontline ships, aircraft, and submarines, including missiles, torpedoes, and aerial rocket drops. It tested the Navy’s combat readiness across extensive areas in the Indian Ocean Region, underscoring its long-range maritime assault capabilities.
TROPEX 2025 Senior Leadership Participation: The most recent iteration saw senior military commanders, including Vice Chiefs of the Navy and Air Force, board INS Vikrant for a joint phase of the exercise. In a demonstration of joint operations, Air Marshal SP Dharkar flew aboard a MiG-29KUB trainer.
Each TROPEX edition has progressively advanced the Indian Navy’s operational preparedness, adapting to emerging threats and incorporating lessons from previous exercises. To further bolster operational readiness, exercises such as Sea Vigil (coastal defense) and AMPHEX (amphibious operations) have been conducted, complementing naval operations as a whole.
Strategic Impact and Considerations
TROPEX 2025 holds significant relevance for India’s military, not just in terms of national defense, but also in shaping its strategic posture within the Indo-Pacific region:
Power Projection: It enhances India’s ability to project power both within its borders and beyond, with a focus on the expanded maritime domain, which is a key component of India’s maritime strategy.
Joint Operations: The exercise promotes collaboration across different branches of the armed forces, an essential element for success in modern warfare.
Countering Regional Challenges: In light of China’s growing naval presence in the region, TROPEX highlights India’s readiness and capability to ensure maritime security.
The exercise provides a valuable opportunity for the Indian Navy to test and refine its operational concepts in challenging environments. This helps the navy stay ahead of the curve in naval technology and strategy, ensuring its continued strength and effectiveness.
As TROPEX 2025 unfolds, it not only showcases the Indian Navy’s capabilities but also exemplifies India’s evolving military strategy, aligning it with both global and regional security dynamics. With its emphasis on readiness and continuous learning, the exercise remains a cornerstone of India’s defense infrastructure, contributing to a secure maritime environment in the Indian Ocean Region and beyond.
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