By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, Feb 24:
The latest edition of Indian Navy’s Multi-National Exercise Milan-2022, in which over 40 countries are participating, is scheduled to commence on February 25 in the ‘City of Destiny’, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
MILAN-2022 will be conducted over 9 days in two phases with the harbour phase from February 25 to 28 February and Sea Phase from March 01 to March 04. The theme of the MILAN 2022 exercise is ‘Camaraderie – Cohesion –Collaboration’ which aims to project India as a responsible maritime power to the world at large.
While India is celebrating the 75th year of its independence, the MILAN 22 provides an opportunity to commensurate this milestone with our friends and partners. The exercise aims to hone operational skills, imbibe best practices and procedures, and enable doctrinal learning in the maritime domain, through professional interaction between friendly navies, an Indian Navy statement here said.
Key events planned during MILAN 22 include an opening ceremony followed by the inauguration of MILAN Village on February 26. An Operation Demonstration will be followed by International City Parade on February 27, with the participation of foreign contingents. An international seminar with the theme – ‘Harnessing Collective Maritime Competence through Collaboration’ will be organized on February 27 and February 28. Other activities include professional/ subject matter expert exchanges, Deep Sea Rescue Vessel (DSRV) demonstrations, sports fixtures, cultural visits to Agra(Uttar Pradesh) and Bodh Gaya (Bihar) for foreign visitors.
MILAN 2022 will witness its largest-ever participation, with more than 40 countries sending their warships/high-level delegations. This edition of MILAN would be larger in ‘scope and complexity with a focus on exercises at sea including exercises in surface, sub-surface, and air domains and weapon firings. Operational conferences and seminars are also being conducted, providing participating navies/delegations an opportunity to express their views on maritime security. The high-profile foreign delegates will comprise the highest level naval leadership, agency heads, Ambassadors, and equivalent.
MILAN is a biennial multilateral naval exercise incepted by the Indian Navy in 1995 at Andaman and Nicobar Command. The event was held biennially except in 2001, 2005, 2016, and 2020. The 2001 and 2016 editions were not held due to International Fleet Reviews. The 2005 edition was postponed to 2006 due to the 2004 Tsunami. Similarly, the 2020 edition of MILAN was postponed to this year due to COVID-19.
Starting with the participation of only four countries, viz Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, in1995, the exercise has since transitioned leaps and bounds in terms of the number of participants and complexity of exercises. Originally conceived in consonance with India’s ‘Look East Policy’, MILAN expanded in ensuing years with the Government of India’s ‘Act East policy and Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) initiative, to include participation from island nations in the Western Indian Ocean Region(IOR) as also IOR littorals.
The participation increased from six regional countries to 18 countries in 2014 including IOR littorals. With the Indian Navy’s engagement with friendly foreign countries expanding over the decades, a need was felt to further consolidate the naval cooperation by enhancing the scale and complexity of the MILAN exercise and engaging both regional and extra-regional navies of the world. MILAN 22 will provide an invaluable opportunity to foster bonds of maritime brotherhood across the oceans, the IN statement added.
“Cobra Warrior-22”
In the meanwhile the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be participating in a multi-nation air exercise titled ‘Ex Cobra Warrior 22’ to be held at Waddington, the United Kingdom March 06 to March 27.
Five Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas flew to the UK on Wednesday, along with IAF’s C-17 transport aircraft which will provide the necessary transport support for induction and de-induction of Tejas and will ferry maintenance crew and ground equipment.
Other Air Forces participating in the drill include fighter jets from Sweden –‘ Gripen’ fighters, Belgium’s F-16 fighters. Saudi Arabia will be sending Typhoons and Tornado fighters, an IAF statement said.
The exercise “Ex-Cobra” is aimed at providing operational exposure and sharing best practices amongst the participating Air Forces, thereby enhancing combat capability and forging bonds of friendship. “Ex-Cobra” is one of the largest exercises of the Royal Air Force, in which training is imparted to pilots in planning and executing air-borne missions. The training is the final step for those seeking to qualify as Qualified Weapons Instructors (QWI), Qualified Multi-engine Tactics Instructors, QWI Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and the Qualified Space Instructors Course.
