U.S., Australian, Indian and Japanese Navies Open Exercise Malabar 2026 at Yokosuka
YOKOSUKA, Japan — U.S. naval forces joined the Australian Defence Force, the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) aboard the JMSDF helicopter destroyer JS Ise (DDH 182) at Yokosuka on November 5 for the opening ceremony of Exercise Malabar 2026, the U.S. Navy announced.
U.S. participation includes a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and the San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks USS Anchorage (LPD 23) and USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26), alongside the Indian Navy, the JMSDF, the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. After the ceremony, scheduled at-shore and at-sea exercises will take place in the vicinity of Yokosuka, with combined training in the surface, sub-surface, air and information domains.
"What began in 1992 as a modest bilateral event between the United States and India has matured over three decades into a premier, quadrilateral exercise," said Vice Adm. Pat Hannifin, commander of U.S. 7th Fleet. "This growth builds our interoperability to collaboratively reinforce a free and open Indo-Pacific that benefits all nations."
Malabar began in 1992 as a U.S.-India bilateral exercise and has since grown in scope and complexity, with Japan and Australia joining later. This year marks the sixth time all four nations have participated together. The Navy said the multi-domain training builds real-world proficiency in detecting, locating, tracking and engaging units at sea, in the air and in cyberspace, and demonstrates a shared commitment to the rule of law and freedom of navigation. (Source: U.S. Navy)
Source: U.S. Navy
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：印度海军、日本海上自卫队与美国海军舰艇在马拉巴尔演习中编队航行（2017年资料图）。美国海军照片（公共领域），Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Indian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and U.S. Navy ships sail in formation during Exercise Malabar (2017 file photo). U.S. Navy photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
