India-US HADR Exercise Tiger Triumph 2025 Begins In Visakhapatnam

India and the U.S. have kicked off the 4th edition of their bilateral HADR amphibious exercise, Tiger Triumph 2025, at the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam with an opening ceremony aboard the Indian Navy’s INS Jalashwa (L41).

The Tiger Triumph 2025 exercise reflects the deepening convergence of U.S.-India strategic maritime interests and the countries’ defence partnership.

Aim Of The Exercise

“The present edition is aimed at further enhancement of interoperability and combined joint all-domain operations during large-scale HADR operations,” the statement issued by the Ministry of Defence said.

“The harbour phase of the exercise is being conducted at Visakhapatnam from 01-07 Apr 25, and involves a planning process for the execution of various training events at sea, as well as further refinement of procedures established in previous iterations of Tiger TRIUMPH,” the statement said.

In addition, the harbour phase will include training and Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) events on a range of professional subjects, such as special operations, emergency medical response procedures, and operations across the air, maritime, cyber and space domains.

Best Practices To Be Exchanged

These exchanges will allow our forces to continue sharing Best Practices and building stronger bonds.

Sports engagements and visits to sites of cultural importance will also be coordinated to nurture camaraderie and develop personal relationships.

During the sea phase, which will take place from 08-12 Apr 25, the bilateral forces will work together to train for maritime, amphibious and HADR operations through a Joint Combined Command and Control Center.

This phase will conclude with the establishment of a joint combined humanitarian relief and medical response camp following an amphibious landing at Kakinada.

Participating units from the Indian Navy include Landing Platform Dock INS Jalashwa with integral landing crafts and helicopters, the Delhi-class guided-missile destroyer INS Mumbai (D62), Magar-class amphibious assault ship, Deepak-class fleet tanker INS Shakti (A57) and PBI Long-Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft, MH60R Helicopters and Hawk Aircraft.

The Indian Army will be represented by an Infantry Battalion group, including Mechanised Forces, and Special Operations Forces from all three services will also participate in the exercise. Cyber and Space specialists will also participate in the exercise.

Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force will demonstrate the capability of C130, Mi-17 V5 and showcase the air portable BHISMA medical equipment.

The participating U.S. Task Force would comprise a U.S. Navy Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Comstock (LSD 45), with embarked U.S. Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance battalion, as well as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) and a Navy P8A Poseidon aircraft.

The U.S. Space Force and Air Force are supporting the exercise with subject matter experts and a C-130J aircraft, respectively. The U.S. Army will be represented by a platoon, medical platoon, Civil-Military Operations Center and Multi-Domain Task Force Combined Information Effects Fusion Cell.

(With inputs from IBNS)