Malabar 2026, a multi-nation naval exercise, is under way at Yokosuka, Japan, running from November 5 to 12 as part of a growing Quad partners training collaboration among India, the United States, Japan, and Australia.

The exercise aims to enhance multi-domain interoperability—surface, subsurface, air, and cyberspace—across harbour planning and at-sea training, to support strategic objectives in the Indo-Pacific.

As the 30th anniversary of Malabar, this edition reinforces long-standing interoperability and joint planning among the Quad partners, with a focus on professional exchanges and shared security growth.

This edition marks the sixth time all four countries participate together, expanding from its origins as a bilateral exercise between India and the United States.

Opening ceremonies aboard the JS Mogami (FFM 1) and at Yokosuka included senior officers from all four nations, signaling high-level coordination and shared strategic objectives.

About 200 commanders and personnel attended the opening ceremony aboard the destroyer Ise at the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Yokosuka base.

INS Sahyadri arrived at Yokosuka on November 4, with a welcome ceremony the next day attended by Vice Admiral Yagi Koji and R Madhu Sudan, reflecting growing India-Japan maritime cooperation.

INS Sahyadri, India’s domestically built guided-missile stealth frigate, is participating in two phases—harbour exchanges and sea operations—alongside other units from the four navies.

Participating assets include India’s INS Sahyadri, Japan’s JS Ise and JS Mogami, Australia’s HMAS Stuart and P-8A Poseidon, and the US contingent with P-8A Poseidon, USS Anchorage (LPD 23), and USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26).

The exercise involves top officers aboard the JS Mogami and other vessels, underscoring coordinated planning and shared objectives across surface, air, and undersea domains.

Senior leaders from Japan, India, the United States, and Australia are focusing on interoperability, with key observers including Vice Adm. Pat Hannifin, Vice Adm. A.N. Pramod, Rear Adm. Anita Williams, and JMSDF leadership.

U.S. Navy officials frame Malabar 2026 as reinforcing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, upholding the rule of law and freedom of navigation, and deterring aggression through allied cooperation.