![](https://bharatshakti.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LT-BSI-Defence.gif")
The Indian Navy has handed over command of Combined Task Force 154 (CTF 154), completing its first stint leading the key multinational training task force under Bahrain-based Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). During its tenure, the task force conducted training activities involving personnel from 39 countries, generating more than 7,800 training hours. The handover marks a milestone in India’s expanding role in multinational maritime security cooperation.
CTF 154, which the Indian Navy assumed command of on February 11, 2026, was established in May 2023 at CMF headquarters in Manama, Bahrain and focuses on professional training and capacity building among CMF partners. The coalition, comprising 47 nations, operates multiple task forces that address maritime security, counter-piracy, and security challenges in the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea.
During India’s tenure, CTF 154 conducted 20 Staff Enhancement Training engagements, Operation Compass Rose 26-1, Operation Southern Readiness 26-2 and its first Subject Matter Expert Exchange on Piracy and Armed Robbery, designated SPAR 2026. The programme combined virtual, hybrid and in-person training, drawing on expertise from participating navies, regional maritime agencies and international organisations.
A major engagement was Operation Southern Readiness 26-2, held at the Indian Navy’s Southern Naval Command in Kochi from July 20 to 23. It brought together 276 personnel from 27 countries, supported by 76 facilitators and subject matter experts, with participation from four international organisations. The four-day programme alone generated 3,800 training man-hours.
The training covered maritime domain awareness and information sharing, maritime law, counter-narcotics operations, force protection, asymmetric threats and maritime uncrewed systems. Participants also undertook practical sessions in firefighting and damage control, maritime communications, survival at sea and boarding procedures, alongside sea training aboard an Indian naval ship.
The programme drew on inputs from the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region, CMF’s Joint Maritime Information Centre, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the IMO International Maritime Law Institute. The engagements were designed to improve interoperability, operational preparedness and coordination among maritime forces facing shared security challenges.
CTF 154’s broader training mandate encompasses maritime domain awareness, the law of the sea, maritime interdiction, maritime rescue and assistance, and leadership development. Its work complements the operational roles of other CMF task forces, including those responsible for maritime security, counter-piracy and security in the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea.
India joined CMF as an associate partner in 2022 and became a full member in 2023. Its assumption of command of CTF 154 in February marked the Indian Navy’s first leadership of a CMF task force. The completed tenure adds a practical dimension to India’s growing engagement with partner navies, extending beyond operational cooperation to training, institutional capacity building and the development of common maritime procedures.
Team BharatShakti
