The maiden India-Greece bilateral maritime exercise, conducted between September 13–18, 2025, marked a major milestone in strengthening defence cooperation, operational interoperability, and naval diplomacy between the Indian Navy and the Hellenic Navy.

The exercise was structured in two distinct phases — harbour and sea — and was conducted in the Mediterranean Sea with INS Trikand representing India and HS Themistokles representing Greece.

During the harbour phase (13–17 September) at Salamis Bay, the activities focused on cross-deck visits, crew-level professional exchanges, and cultural interactions to promote closer defence and people-to-people ties.

The highlight was the pre-sail conference onboard HS Themistokles, attended by senior Greek naval leadership, along with a cultural reception aboard INS Trikand, which hosted India’s Ambassador to Greece, Rudrendra Tandon. The crew also visited the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis, reinforcing cultural and diplomatic dimensions of the engagement beyond naval operations.

The sea phase (17–18 September) showcased complex operational drills designed to cement interoperability in multi-domain scenarios. Major highlights included night-time Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) operations, cross-deck helicopter operations, replenishment at sea evolutions, joint anti-submarine warfare (ASW) manoeuvres, and coordinated gunfire exercises.

These activities validated cooperative war fighting capabilities, enhanced crew-to-crew integration, and allowed both navies to share tactical best practices against traditional maritime threats such as piracy and submarine warfare, as well as non-traditional challenges like maritime terrorism and illegal trafficking.

This exercise closely followed INS Trikand’s participation in Exercise Bright Star 2025 in Alexandria, Egypt (1–10 September), underscoring the Indian Navy’s increasing engagement in the Mediterranean and its broader Indo-Mediterranean outreach policy.

In addition to tactical outcomes, it strengthened India’s positioning as a security partner in the Euro-Atlantic periphery while advancing Greece’s role as a strategic bridgehead between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

The Ministry of Defence has emphasised that such interactions build resilient partnerships and foster regional maritime security cooperation. The India-Greece exercise offered both navies an opportunity to develop professional rapport, establish new benchmarks for mutual support operations, and lay the groundwork for sustained naval collaboration in safeguarding sea lanes in and beyond the Mediterranean region.

Based On ANI Report