Exercise Malabar is a multilateral naval exercise involving India, the United States, Japan and Australia, widely regarded as the flagship maritime engagement of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) partner nations. What began in 1992 as a small bilateral passage exercise between the Indian and United States navies has grown into a sophisticated, high-end naval exercise combining anti-submarine warfare, air defence, surface warfare and maritime interdiction training, conducted at locations across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Key facts

  • Permanent participants: India, the United States, Japan (from 2015) and Australia (rejoined 2020)
  • First held: 28-29 May 1992, as a bilateral India-US exercise off the Malabar coast near Kochi and Goa
  • Japan's inclusion: became a permanent partner in 2015, after participating occasionally in earlier years
  • 2025 edition: the 29th iteration, held 10-18 November 2025 in and around Guam, marking the sixth time all four navies have taken part together
  • Focus areas: anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, advanced maritime manoeuvring, information sharing and interoperability
  • Typical assets: destroyers, frigates, submarines, maritime patrol aircraft such as the P-8 Poseidon, and explosive ordnance disposal units

Origins

Malabar traces its origins to a modest bilateral exercise held over two days in May 1992 between the Indian Navy and the United States Navy along the Malabar coast, close to the headquarters of India's Southern Naval Command at Kochi, and off Goa. That first edition involved just four vessels conducting elementary passing exercises and basic manoeuvres, a far cry from the multi-domain, multi-carrier engagements the exercise has since become. Through the 1990s and 2000s, Malabar continued as a primarily bilateral India-US naval exercise, growing gradually in complexity as both navies built greater familiarity with each other's platforms and procedures.

Expansion to a four-nation exercise

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force took part in Malabar on an occasional basis before becoming a permanent participant from 2015, when that year's edition was conducted in the Bay of Bengal off Chennai with around ten warships and aircraft from the three navies. Australia had briefly joined a single edition of Malabar in 2007, but did not return as a regular participant until 2020, when its inclusion completed the current four-nation format that mirrors the membership of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, an informal strategic grouping of India, the United States, Japan and Australia. Malabar is not formally a Quad military exercise, but its four-nation composition has made it the most visible expression of naval cooperation among the grouping's members.

The 2025 edition

Exercise Malabar 2025, the 29th iteration of the series, was conducted from 10 to 18 November 2025 in and around the island of Guam, marking the sixth occasion on which all four navies have exercised together. India deployed the Shivalik-class frigate INS Sahyadri, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force sent the helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga, Australia contributed the Anzac-class frigate HMAS Ballarat and a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon operating from Andersen Air Force Base, while the United States fielded the destroyer USS Fitzgerald, a submarine, a P-8A Poseidon and an explosive ordnance disposal mobile unit. The exercise covered advanced maritime manoeuvring, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare drills, information-sharing procedures and a range of subject-matter-expert exchanges intended to improve overall interoperability between the four fleets.

Strategic significance

Malabar's growth from a small bilateral drill into a major four-nation exercise closely tracks the deepening of India's ties with the United States, Japan and Australia and the broader emergence of the Indo-Pacific as a shared strategic concept among these countries. For the Indian Navy, participation offers regular exposure to carrier strike group operations, advanced anti-submarine tactics and multinational command arrangements that few other exercises provide, while for all four partners Malabar functions as a visible, recurring signal of collective maritime cooperation in the region.