42 warships, submarines and 29 aircraft: How Navy’s mega exercise MILAN unfolded

NEW DELHI: MILAN 2026, a multilateral naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy, concluded on February 25 with a closing ceremony held onboard aircraft carrier INS Vikrant off the coast of Visakhapatnam.

The ceremony was attended by naval officers from participating countries and presided over by Rear Admiral Alok Ananda, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet. The exercise was conducted in the Bay of Bengal and involved ships, submarines and aircraft from multiple countries.




A total of 42 ships and submarines and 29 aircraft participated in the exercise, including 18 warships from foreign navies. Maritime patrol aircraft from France, Germany and the United States also took part.

"Held under the theme ‘Camaraderie, Cooperation, Collaboration’, MILAN 2026 witnessed participation on an unprecedented scale, comprising 42 ships and submarines and, 29 aircraft. These also included 18 ships from the participating Friendly Foreign Countries," the ministry of defence said in a statement.

The exercise began with a harbour phase that included bilateral engagements, subject matter expert exchanges and an international maritime seminar.

Professional interactions were accompanied by cultural activities, cross-deck visits and outstation visits by participating personnel.

Technological demonstrations and interactions among young naval officers were also held.

"Technological demonstrations and the MILAN of Young Officers (MOYO) interaction facilitated the exchange of best practices, while friendly sports fixtures enabled informal interaction," the statement read.

This was followed by the sea phase, which included "high-intensity operational drills" such as integrated air defence exercises, anti-submarine warfare operations and maritime interdiction drills.

Surface strike coordination exercises, communication drills and cross-deck flying operations were also conducted.

Live firing exercises involving naval guns and anti-air weapons were carried out during the operational phase.

Participating navies also conducted tactical manoeuvres at sea as part of coordinated operational drills.

During the closing ceremony onboard INS Vikrant, officers from participating ships reviewed the conduct of the exercise.

According to the official statement, the exercise focused on operational coordination and maritime cooperation among participating navies.