![](https://bharatshakti.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LT-BSI-Defence.gif")
India’s maritime search and rescue preparedness will be put to a major operational test off Paradip on Thursday with the launch of SAREX-2026, a multinational exercise involving 30 foreign countries and a large array of Indian naval, air and civil assets.
Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth inaugurated the exercise on Wednesday in the presence of 32 delegates from friendly foreign nations. The drill, described as one of the largest and most complex search and rescue exercises in the region, will bring together the Indian Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force, coastal police, ports, civil agencies and the shipping community.
The exercise will simulate a mass rescue operation involving simultaneous aeronautical and maritime emergencies, including the ditching of a passenger aircraft at sea with 228 people aboard and its collision with the container vessel MV Zumba. The scenario is designed to test the ability of multiple agencies to mount a coordinated response to a large-scale maritime disaster.
The exercise will deploy 15 Coast Guard ships, two Dornier aircraft, three Advanced Light Helicopters and a Chetak helicopter, besides IAF C-130J and Mi-17 aircraft, two Indian Navy ships and a range of civil and state assets and shore-based units.
The participation of 32 observers from 30 countries is aimed at strengthening international interoperability and sharing operational practices in maritime search and rescue.
The exercise comes against the backdrop of India’s expanding satellite-aided search and rescue capability. Officials highlighted the progression from Low Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (LEOSAR) to Geostationary Search and Rescue (GEOSAR) and now Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR). The achievement of full operational capability of India’s MEOLUT system was described as a significant step in strengthening the country’s national SAR architecture.
Earlier on Wednesday, the 24th National Maritime Search and Rescue (NMSAR) Board meeting, chaired by Coast Guard Director General Paramesh Sivamani, reviewed SAR preparedness across India’s 4.6-million-sq-km Search and Rescue Region.
The meeting focused on technological integration, real-time information sharing, distress-alert management, vessel tracking and inter-agency coordination, areas that will form the operational backbone of SAREX-2026. Sivamani stressed that lessons from past rescue missions and multi-agency exercises must translate into improved operational readiness and faster response.
The meeting also featured the National Maritime Search and Rescue Awards 2026, recognising individuals and agencies for exemplary efforts in saving lives at sea.
SAREX-2026 is intended to validate India’s operational preparedness, test joint response mechanisms and strengthen international cooperation, with the preservation of life at sea as its overriding objective.
Team BharatShakti
