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The Royal Australian Navy has wrapped up their five-day involvement in Exercise Milan across the Bay of Bengal.
HMAS Warramunga has finalised its service in Exercise Milan, which saw five days of “high-end maritime training” within the multinational maritime engagement activity.
Hosted by the Indian Navy, this is one of the largest multinational maritime exercises, seeing over 70 nations being a part of the engagement, representing large-scale interoperable cooperation.
Being a part of every version of the exercise since 2003, this represents Australia’s continued commitment to maintaining security and peace in the Indo-Pacific.
Commanding Officer of HMAS Warramunga, Commander Ken Brown, reiterated this point, saying, “Since 2014, Australia and India have more than tripled the frequency of our defence exercises, engagements and activities.
“This partnership delivers tangible benefits to Indo‑Pacific security by safeguarding vital sea lines of communication and enhancing our collective ability to respond to both traditional and non‑traditional maritime threats.”
While participating, a RAN milestone was achieved through landing an aircraft on India’s advanced aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant.
An MH-60R Seahawk helicopter was also landed aboard India’s INS Himgiri.
Lieutenant Barton Heeney said this was a major achievement for both India and Australia, saying, “INS Vikrant is an impressive platform, supported by an exceptionally capable and well‑drilled deck team.
“Conducting this evolution together demonstrates the high level of trust and interoperability between our navies, and it was a privilege to be part of it.”
The Iranian frigate that was torpedoed by the US was reportedly on the way back from this exercise when it was struck off the southern coast of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean.
