Indian and Italian aircraft carriers carried out a joint exercise last weekend in the Arabian Sea ahead of naval exercise Malabar 2024, which began in Visakhapatnam, India, on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, Japan’s Defense Minister on Tuesday confirmed the U.S. Marine Corps will deploy an unmanned surface vessel to Okinawa to conduct trials. In other developments, a Russian Navy surface action group has set out for a deployment to the Asia Pacific, while a joint Russian Navy–People’s Liberation Army Navy patrol is carrying out anti-submarine warfare drills in the Indo-Pacific.

From Saturday to Sunday, the Indian Navy, Indian Air Force (IAF) and Italian Navy carried out a dual carrier strike group exercise in the Arabian Sea. Participating assets included the Indian Navy’s Vikramaditya CSG, with aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (R33) and destroyer INS Visakhapatnam (D66), and the Italian Navy Cavour CSG featuring aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (550) and frigate ITS Alpino (F594).

On Tuesday, Quad countries Australia, India, Japan and the United States began Malabar 2024 in Visakhapatnam, India.

“Malabar 2024 will focus on a broad range of activities designed to enhance cooperation and operational capabilities, including discussions on special operations, surface, air, and anti-submarine warfare through a Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE),” stated an Indian Ministry of Defense release. “Complex maritime operations such as anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, and air defense exercises will be conducted at sea, with an emphasis on improving situational awareness in the maritime domain.”

Host nation India is deploying destroyer INS Delhi (D61), frigate INS Tabar (F44), corvettes INS Kamorta (P28) and INS Kadmatt (P29), fleet oiler INS Shakti (A57), a submarine and P-8I maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), while Australia is deploying frigate HMAS Stuart (FFH153) and a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon MPA. Japan is participating with destroyer JS Ariake (DD-109), while the United States is represented by destroyer USS Dewey (DDG-105) and a P-8A Poseidon MPA. All four countries are also deploying a special operations force contingent for the exercise. The four countries will drill together until October 18.

On Tuesday, during his regular scheduled press conference, Japan Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said the U.S. Marine Corps is deploying a USV to Naha Port Facility, Okinawa, to conduct trials on its operations. According to Nakatani, the USV’s activities will involve supplying troops in the coastal waters around Okinawa Island and other resupply activities, as well as conducting various evaluations to strengthen the logistical support functions of the U.S. military. Nakatani did not detail which USV will head to Okinawa. USNI News reported in September that the largely Japan-based III Marine Expeditionary Force would conduct trials with the Autonomous Low-Profile Vessel this fall.

On Saturday, a Russian Navy surface action group featuring corvettes RFS Gromkiy (335), RFS Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov (339) and RFS Rezkiy (343) and a Dubna-class fleet oiler left Vladivostok for an Asia Pacific deployment. The three corvettes will conduct a series of exercises in the Asia-Pacific region, including searching for and destroying submarines of a simulated enemy, a Russian Ministry of Defense news release stated on Saturday. The corvettes will also practice training tasks in air defense and anti-sabotage defense at sea. The release did not state which countries the corvettes would drill with, but the Indonesian Navy disclosed in August that it would conduct a bilateral exercise with the Russian Navy called Orruda 2024 from Nov. 4-8 in Surabaya, East Java, and the Java Sea, with both sides each fielding three naval vessels.

 

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force tracked the Russian ships as they passed by Japan. On Saturday at midnight, the Russian ships were sighted sailing southwest in an area 24 miles east of Tsushima and subsequently sailed southwest through the Tsushima Strait, according to a Japan Joint Staff Office news release issued Monday. The release added that the Russian ships sailed southwest on Monday in the waters between Yonaguni Island and Iromote Island to enter the Philippine Sea. JMSDF fast-attack craft JS Otaka (PG-826), JMSDF P-1s of Fleet Air Wing 1 based at JMSDF Kanoya Air Base, Fleet Air Wing 4 based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi and a JMSDF P-3C Orion based at Naha Air Base shadowed the Russian ships, according to the release.

A second release by the JSO on Monday stated that at 4 a.m. on Sunday, Russian Navy corvette RFS Ust-Ilimsk (362) and minesweepers RFS Yakov Balyaev (701) and RFS Anatoly Shlemov (757) were sighted sailing east in an area 24 miles northwest of Rebun Island and subsequently sailed east through La Pérouse Strait, which lies between the Japanese main island of Hokkaido and the Russian island of Sakhalin, to enter the Sea of Okhotsk. Fast-attack craft JS Kumataka (PG-827) and a JMSDF P-3C Orion based at JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base monitored the Russian ships.

Meanwhile the joint Russian Navy–PLAN patrol featuring Russian Navy destroyers RFS Admiral Panteleyev (548) and RFS Admiral Tributs (564) and PLAN cruiser CNS Wuxi (104), destroyer CNS Xining (117), frigate CNS Linyi (547) and fleet oiler CNS Taihu (889) carried out anti-submarine drills in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, according to a Russian Ministry of Defense release on Tuesday.

“The Russian and Chinese warships began joint patrols in the Pacific Rim after participating in Beibu/Interaction 2024 naval exercise. During the tasks of the patrols, a series of drills and combat training exercises including the organisation of anti-submarine defence and rescue at sea were planned,” reads the release.