Exercise TROPEX
[2] It commenced in April 2005 and involved units of the Indian Navy, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard.
[4] On 21 April 2006, an Indian naval missile corvette Prahar, collided with a merchant vessel Rajiv Gandhi head-on and sank about three hours after the collision about ten nautical miles off Mormugao port in Goa.
[7] The exercise involved fifty ships from the Indian Navy's Western and Eastern Naval Command, including the aircraft carrier INS Viraat, Rajput and Delhi-class destroyers, and Talwar, Brahmaputra and Godavari-class frigates.
[9][10] "The thrust of this year's edition was to validate the concept of 'Maritime Manoeuvre from the Sea' that is designed to ensure that in a short, swift and intense conflict, the navy is able to directly address and favourably influence the progress and outcome of the air-land battle," said a navy spokesperson.
[11] On 1 February 2008, while the exercise was underway, five India naval personnel were killed and three others were critically injured aboard the amphibious transport warship INS Jalashwa, when they inadvertently inhaled the poisonous hydrogen sulphide (H2S) gas while trying to locate the source of the leakage in a compartment of the ship.
[15] Prasad, one of the survivors, later narrated that Gupta, sensing the gravity of the situation, promptly decided to not wait for the gas masks, and, regardless of personal risk, rushed to the rescue of trapped sailors aboard the Jalashwa, and in the process inhaled the poisonous gas.
[16][17] "He jumped and so did I," Prasad said, "I was the last man to see him conscious before I fell myself and in those 30 to 60 seconds we were down there, all I remember is how he showed utter disregard to his own safety.
[22][23] Major surface combatants, including the aircraft carrier, INS Viraat, airborne early warning (AEW) helicopters, UAVs from the Indian Navy's Western and Eastern Naval Command along with assets from the Indian Air Force, including Su-30MKI, and Jaguars.
It was witnessed by then Admiral Nirmal Verma (Chief of the Naval Staff) and then Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar from aboard INS Viraat.
[23] "Overall, the exercise is intended to thoroughly test the human and material endurance of the Navy, the efficacy of its operational and logistics plans and its combat effectiveness," said a press release issued by Ministry of Defence.
[23] TROPEX 2011 was conducted in February 2011 on the Western seaboard and involved units of the Indian Navy, Army and Air Force.
[24] During the exercise, the navy pulled out its largest amphibious warship INS Jalashwa, which was then ordered to proceed to Libya to evacuate its nationals, who were fleeing from the Libyan Civil War.
[30] Indian Air Force assets included a variety of aircraft such as Su-30MKI, Jaguar, Mirage 2000 and Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C).
[32] It also focused on validating the Indian Navy's war fighting doctrine and integration of newly included capabilities in its 'Concept of Operations'.
[32] The Indian Navy validated its network centric warfare capabilities, wherein, its recently launched satellite GSAT 7 was extensively utilised.
[34][35] A statement issued by the Ministry of Defence read: "The exercise provided the right opportunity for the navy to integrate these acquisitions into its war-fighting concepts.
TROPEX-15 also served to reinforce the Indian Navy's offensive capabilities across all dimensions, including Network Centric Operations, wherein, the indigenous satellite Rukmani was extensively utilised.
[37] "The interaction of the forces helped validate operational war fighting concepts and provided valuable lessons to sharpen combat skills," a statement issued by Ministry of Defence said.
[38] Beside gunnery shoots, missile firing, and air defense exercises, TROPEX 2017 featured Large Force Engagement (LFE) by Indian Navy fleet units against threats simulated by the Indian Air Force with key assets such as Su-30MKI and Jaguars, equipped with Harpoon anti-ship missiles, representing enemy aircraft.
[42] TROPEX 19 had commenced with tri-services Amphibious Exercise in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands with participation of Army and Air Force.
The TROPEX itself was thus far the largest in terms of geographical spread covering the IOR and also with regard to the number of participating units.
