INS Sahyadri joins US, Japan and Australia Navies for the Malabar Exercises

New Delhi: India’s indigenous guided-missile stealth frigate INS Sahyadri has arrived at Yokosuka Naval Base for Exercise Malabar 2026, joining Naval forces from the United States, Japan and Australia in one of the Indo-Pacific’s premier multilateral naval drills.

The Eastern Fleet warship docked on 4 November and was given a formal welcome by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). Vice Admiral Yagi Koji, Commandant of Yokosuka District, and R. Madhu Sudan, Deputy Chief of the Indian Mission, attended the ceremony.

An opening ceremony followed on 5 November in the Funakoshi area, marking the formal start of the exercise. Senior commanders from the four nations, including Rear Admiral Anita Williams of the Royal Australian Navy, Vice Admiral A.N. Pramod of the Indian Navy, Vice Admiral Pat Hannifin of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, and Vice Admiral Katsushi Omachi of the JMSDF, gathered as the harbour phase began.

“What began in 1992 as a modest bilateral event between the United States and India has matured over three decades into a premier, quadrilateral exercise,” Vice Admiral Hannifin said. “This growth builds our interoperability to collaboratively reinforce a Free and Open Indo-Pacific that benefits all nations.”

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Malabar, now in its 30th year and the sixth edition involving all four partners, runs from 5 to 12 November in waters south of Japan’s Kanto region. The programme combines harbour planning with at-sea training across surface, subsurface, air and information domains.

Participating units include Japan’s helicopter destroyer JS Ise, frigate JS Mogami, a submarine and a P-1 patrol aircraft; Australia’s frigate HMAS Stuart and a P-8A Poseidon; and U.S. assets comprising a P-8A Poseidon plus the amphibious transport docks USS Anchorage and USS John P. Murtha. INS Sahyadri, a Shivalik-class stealth frigate, joins after completing a bilateral exercise with the South Korean Navy in Busan.

The Indian Navy said the exercise provides an opportunity “to enhance operational coordination, strengthen interoperability and exchange professional expertise,” contributing to a “secure and stable Indo-Pacific.” The Indian side has framed the deployment as consistent with India’s MAHASAGAR vision of mutual advancement for security and growth across regions.