Indian Navy 2022: The rising tide lifts all

Here is an article from the Indian Navy for The Sunday Guardian on the occasion of Navy Day on 4 December.

- CMDE PRASHANT HANDU NM

The Indian Navy is the pre-eminent maritime status-quo power in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Amidst various global crises and the war in Europe, the Indian Navy has assiduously executed its mandate with indefatigable attitude in 2022.

Maintaining full operational capability, the Navy's seamlessly-networked platforms were deployed across and beyond the IOR, providing maritime domain awareness and posturing intent. Periodic firing of long-range precision weapons undertaken to hone "Ordnance on Target" skills, also served as strategic signalling to potential adversaries. Contingencies across a wide spectrum of operations were war-gamed during various exercises, catering towards emerging threats and capabilities.

Combat-ready platforms on mission-based deployments were often re-deployed to address emergent contingencies, reinforcing the Navy's resolve to be the first responder in the IOR. Naval warships also contributed towards Mare Liberum (freedom of the seas) and nation-building by ensuring unhindered maritime trade in critical waters of Strait of Hormuz-Op Sankalp continued throughout 2022; Naval warships have escorted over 400 Indian flagged vessels carrying over 3 crore tonnes of cargo since June 2019. Indian warships also remained continuously deployed in the Gulf of Aden on anti-piracy patrol, with nearly 100 warships deployed since 2008.