Exercise Milan 2026: Three Mega Maritime Events, 72 Countries Put India at Centre of Global Naval Diplomacy

By
Ravi Shankar
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MILAN 2026

Visakhapatnam will, from today, February 15 to 25, turn into the world’s busiest naval crossroads.

Over the next ten days, the Indian Navy will host three major international engagements in quick succession: Exercise Milan 2026, the International Fleet Review (IFR) 2026, and the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Ninth Conclave of Navy Chiefs. Together, they bring warships, aircraft and naval leaders from more than 75 countries to India’s eastern seaboard. A total of 75 delegations, including India. 72 foreign countries, 02 international constructs, plus India.

The scale is unprecedented. The messaging is unmistakable.

A Maritime Trifecta in Vizag

The centrepiece is Milan-26, the 13th edition of India’s flagship multilateral naval exercise. It will run alongside IFR 2026 and the IONS Conclave, creating what naval planners describe as a single, layered maritime engagement, ceremonial display, operational drills and strategic dialogue rolled into one.

The programme formally begins at sea on February 18 with the Presidential Fleet Review. President Droupadi Murmu will review an assembly of over 75 ships (Indian plus foreign) that includes the President’s mobile column, besides India’s two aircraft carriers and frontline combatants from foreign navies.

The Fleet Review will put on display India’s newest indigenous platforms, the Visakhapatnam-class destroyers, Nilgiri-class stealth frigates and Arnala-class anti-submarine warfare corvettes, alongside visiting warships and aircraft.

For the Indian Navy, it is both a showcase and a statement.

Milan-26: From Symbolism to Sea Control, 20 Foreign warships from 19 countries

When warships from the United States, Russia, Japan, Iran, South Africa, and, for the first time, the Philippines, Germany, and the UAE, along with several Southeast Asian and African nations, sail into Visakhapatnam, the visual choreography will be familiar – formations, parades, and photo opportunities.

But this edition of Milan is different in scale and ambition.

Invitations were sent to over 135 countries. Seventy two have confirmed participation. At least 20 Foreign warships from 19 countries, plus 3 foreign aircraft are expected to take part. The footprint stretches well beyond the Indian Ocean to the Western Pacific, Africa and Europe. 

Conducted under the Eastern Naval Command, Milan-26 is designed to move beyond basic passage exercises. It will test interoperability in complex, multi-domain operations.

The Harbour Phase begins on February 19. It includes an opening ceremony, an international city parade and an International Maritime Seminar. Subject Matter Expert Exchanges will allow commanders to align procedures before heading out to sea.

The Sea Phase, from February 21 to 25 in the Bay of Bengal, will see advanced drills in anti-submarine warfare, air defence, electronic warfare, search-and-rescue and maritime domain awareness. The emphasis this year is on “multi-domain synergy” – surface, subsurface and air elements operating together under shared communication protocols.

Naval planners say the aim is clear: ensure that ships built in different yards, running different systems and doctrines, can fight together if required.

Indigenous Muscle on Display

A key feature of Milan-26 will be India’s indigenisation drive.

The carrier battle group, likely led by INS Vikrant, will be at the forefront. Destroyers, stealth frigates and other frontline assets built in Indian shipyards will operate in high-intensity scenarios alongside foreign navies.

The signal is twofold. India is not only a buyer of platforms. It is positioning itself as a builder and an operational partner.

IONS Conclave: Strategy Behind the Steel

Parallel to sea drills, the IONS Ninth Conclave of Chiefs will convene naval leaders from 25 member states and nine observers. Discussions are expected to focus on piracy, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, maritime information sharing and emerging security challenges.

By sequencing IONS with IFR and Milan, India is attempting to bridge dialogue with deployment, Chiefs at the table, and ships at sea.

From Four Navies to Seventy Plus

Milan began in 1995 as a modest gathering of four regional navies, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, under the Andaman & Nicobar Command.

Over three decades, it has grown steadily. By 2022, 42 countries from around the world were participating. In 2026, that number has climbed to 72.

The expansion mirrors India’s maritime evolution, from a regional player focused on its immediate neighbourhood to a convenor in the wider Indo-Pacific.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated the SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision in 2015, framing the Indian Ocean as a shared space. A decade later, the MAHASAGAR vision widened that aperture to global maritime partnerships.

The guest list in Visakhapatnam reflects that shift. Alongside Indian Ocean states are navies from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and major powers such as the United States and Russia, often on opposite sides of geopolitical divides.

Their simultaneous presence in an Indian-hosted exercise carries its own message.

Scale as Strategic Signalling

Hosting three major naval events at once is a logistical undertaking of rare complexity, said Navy Chief Adm Dinesh K Tripathi to BharatShakti. It is also a deliberate signalling.

The International Fleet Review offers ceremony and spectacle. Milan delivers operational substance. IONS provides strategic conversation. Together, they create a layered demonstration of capability, convening power and diplomatic outreach.

In a fractured global environment, India is positioning itself as a maritime bridge, able to engage rival powers, strengthen ties with neighbours, and deepen partnerships with middle and smaller navies.

As warships line up off Visakhapatnam and naval Chiefs gather ashore, the choreography will be carefully watched. Beyond the flags and formations lies a broader ambition: to anchor collective maritime security and shape the norms of a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.

For the next ten days, the world’s oceans converge on India’s east coast.

Ravi Shankar

 

 

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Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.

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