The Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX) 2025, the Indian Navy’s flagship biennial maritime exercise, has been underway from January to March in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). As the Navy’s most extensive operational drill, it combines key maritime assets while integrating units from the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and Indian Coast Guard. TROPEX is designed to validate operational strategies, enhance combat preparedness, and improve tri-service interoperability in a multi-domain threat environment (PIB, 2025).
However, this exercise is not merely a training operation; it plays a pivotal role in shaping India’s maritime strategy. Beyond reinforcing defensive capabilities, TROPEX underscores India’s growing naval ambitions. The extensive joint-force participation, advanced tactical drills, and strategic power projection reaffirm India’s strategic intent to secure its maritime interests and assert its crucial role in the region.
Enhancing Maritime Readiness and Joint Warfare Capabilities
The sheer scale and operational complexity of TROPEX 2025 sets it apart. This year’s iteration involves approximately 65 warships, 9 submarines, and over 80 aircraft from multiple service branches. The exercise rigorously tests the Indian Navy’s capacity to operate in high-threat scenarios while ensuring sustainability and seamless coordination with other forces (PIB, 2025).
The participation of state-of-the-art platforms such as the indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata-class destroyers, and Kalvari-class submarines demonstrates the evolving prowess of India’s naval force. The aerial component comprises MiG-29K fighters, P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft, HALE Sea Guardian drones, and MH-60R helicopters, highlighting India’s enhanced integration of air and sea assets (Ibid, 2025).
The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force play a critical and integral role in the exercise. The IAF has deployed Sukhoi-30s, Jaguars, C-130 transport aircraft, airborne refuellers, and Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft for joint operations. Meanwhile, an Infantry Brigade with over 600 troops, along with more than 10 Indian Coast Guard ships and aircraft, is engaged in the exercise. This level of integration ensures a unified and powerful response to emerging maritime security challenges, including conventional, asymmetric, and hybrid threats (The Hindu Bureau, 2025).
TROPEX 2025 is conducted in stages, beginning with a Harbour Phase that includes logistics, briefings, and planning, followed by a Sea Phase that involves complex naval operations. The exercise coincided with AMPHEX-25, a biennial tri-Services amphibious exercise conducted at Karwar (Express News Service, 2025). The exercise engaged the Sudarshan Chakra Corps of the Indian Army’s Southwestern Command in collaboration with the Indian Navy. It concentrated on extensive mobilisation, strategic planning, and the execution of complex amphibious operations, reinforcing India’s integrated warfighting capabilities (@IaSouthern, 2025).
Towards a Blue-Water Navy
TROPEX has grown into one of the region’s most significant maritime warfighting exercises, continuously expanding in scope and complexity since its inception in 2003. The exercise serves as a testament to India’s commitment to maritime security in the IOR and reinforces its role as a regional security provider. It evaluates a wide array of combat scenarios, evaluating the Indian Navy’s ability to conduct high-intensity naval warfare, including carrier battle group manoeuvres, missile engagements, and submarine operations.
Amphibious drills form a crucial component, with joint army-navy operations simulating coordinated assaults on strategic coastal areas. Cyber and electronic warfare capabilities are also put to the test through simulated cyber threats and electronic countermeasures designed to assess network resilience (Manan Bhatt, 2025).
Additionally, live weapon firings, including torpedo launches, cruise missile strikes, and air defence exercises, enhance combat preparedness. Anti-submarine and aerial combat drills, conducted in collaboration with the Indian Air Force and Coast Guard, further refine interoperability and operational readiness. As India strengthens its maritime capabilities, the question arises—does TROPEX primarily enhance operational readiness, or does it signal a broader strategic shift?
By conducting these integrated exercises, the Indian Navy strengthens its ability to sustain prolonged blue-water missions and secures critical Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs). With an increasing focus on strategic forward deployment, India continues to enhance its deterrence posture and reinforce maritime dominance in the Indo-Pacific.
Maritime Strategy or Power Projection?
While TROPEX remains a key exercise for operational readiness, its broader implications go beyond standard training objectives. The deployment of advanced warships, submarines, and aerial assets signals India’s ability to operate in contested maritime spaces, reinforcing its strategic autonomy in the IOR.
India’s naval advancements, joint exercises with partner nations, and investments in indigenous defence manufacturing reflect a long-term vision of building a formidable blue-water navy. The integration of platforms such as INS Vikrant and Visakhapatnam-class destroyers underscores this transition towards a more capable maritime force (Yuvraj Tyagi, 2025).
Despite these advancements, India’s maritime posture remains centred on deterrence and security rather than an aggressive posture. The Indian Navy prioritises national interests, regional stability, and cooperative engagements through initiatives like the Malabar and Milan series. In this light, TROPEX 2025 is not merely an exercise in power projection but an affirmation of India’s strategic intent to ensure maritime security and uphold a rules-based order in IOR.
Conclusion
TROPEX 2025 underscores India’s expanding naval capabilities and commitment to maritime security. While the exercise enhances combat readiness against conventional and hybrid threats, it also serves as a strategic signal—demonstrating deterrence, preparedness, and India’s role as a stabilising force in the region. TROPEX strengthens India’s position as a key naval power by reinforcing tri-service integration and validating modern warfighting concepts. The Indian Navy’s proactive operational expansion further cements its role as a net security provider in the IOR. In this context, TROPEX 2025 is not just a military drill but a definitive assertion of India’s resolve to safeguard its maritime interests and uphold regional stability.
