Indian Navy prepares for the next edition of Exercise MILAN scheduled to be held in February 2024

In addition to preparing for Navy Day on December 4, the Indian Navy is getting ready to hold its biggest multilateral exercise early next year. Defence sources stated that more than 50 countries are expected to participate in the upcoming Exercise MILAN, which is set to take place in February 2024. They added that this indicates the Navy's increased engagements and ability to support nations in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as a preferred security partner and first responder.

Since its inception in 1995, Exercise Milan has grown to be the largest multinational naval exercise ever conducted by India in terms of both scope and scale. This year's October saw the mid-planning meeting for Milan-24. More than 40 nations participated in the most recent Milan competition, which is conducted off the coast of Visakhapatnam.

This year's Navy Day is set for December 4 at the western seaboard's Sindhudurg Fort, which Chhatrapati Shivaji constructed in 1660. It is around 135 miles from the Goa naval station and 550 km from Mumbai. Twenty warships, forty aircraft, including MiG 29K and LCA Navy, as well as a combat beach reconnaissance and assault demonstration by the Marine Commandos, will all be participating in the operational display. For the first time, the Navy is planning a large-scale event that would not be held at a significant naval base. In remembrance of the Navy's audacious strike on Karachi port during the 1971 War during Operation Trident, December 4 is designated as Navy Day.

India has greatly increased its capacity-building aid to neighbouring nations. In order to support capacity development, this entails providing platforms, conducting frequent training sessions, and frequently sending Mobile Training Teams (MTT) abroad. 

With the help of defence lines of credit, Indian-built offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) and fast attack craft (FAC) are now in use in Mauritius, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka. India gave Myanmar a kilo-class submarine named INS Sindhuvir in October 2020 after it had undergone major renovations and upgrades.