India-US "Tiger Triumph" Joint Exercise Kicks Off in Visakhapatnam
The fourth iteration of the biannual combined Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) amphibious drill between India and the United States, named Tiger TRIUMPH 2025, began in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. This event took place in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, as reported on April 2 by ANI.
A post on X from the Indian Army’s Southern Command announced, “Exercise Tiger Triumph 25, now in its fourth iteration, has begun in Visakhapatnam. This drill aims at boosting joint response abilities and encourages skill sharing as well as operational preparedness within the Indian Ocean area. The main contributors encompass Amphibious Warriors from the Indian Army, vessels from the Indian Navy, units like the U.S. Army’s 1-5 IN ‘Bobcats’ and Arctic Wolves, alongside elements from the United States Marine Corps’ 1st Battalion.”
The inauguration for the drill took place aboard India’s naval vessel INS Jalashwa (L41) on April 1st. According to an official joint declaration, this event underscores the strengthening alignment between U.S.-India strategic maritime goals as well as their defense collaboration. This particular iteration seeks to bolster operational compatibility and integrated multi-domain actions throughout extensive humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercises.
During the Exercise Tiger Triumph inauguration ceremony, officials stated jointly, “From April 1st through April 7th, the harbor segment of this exercise will take place in Visakhapatnam. This stage includes organizing multiple maritime training activities and enhancing protocols previously set during earlier editions of Tiger TRIUMPH.”
In addition, the harbour phase will include training and Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) events on a range of professional subjects, such as special operations, emergency medical response procedures, and operations across the air, maritime, cyber and space domains.
These interactions will enable our teams to keep exchanging top strategies and forging tighter connections. Coordinated sports activities and tours at culturally significant locations will further help in cultivating teamwork and establishing individual rapport.
In the naval stage, scheduled from April 8-12, combined forces will collaborate to practice maritime, amphibious, and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief exercises via a Joint Combined Command and Control Center.
This phase will culminate with the creation of a unified humanitarian aid and medical response facility after an amphibious deployment near Kakinada. The participating naval forces from India consist of the Landing Platform Dock INS Jalashwa equipped with integrated landing craft and helicopters, the Delhi-class missile destroyer INS Mumbai (D62), the Magar-class amphibious assault vessel INS Gharial (L23), the Deepak-class replenishment oiler INS Shakti (A57), along with long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft PBIs, MH60R helicopters, and Hawk aircraft, as stated in the release.
An Infantry Battalion Group of the Indian Army will take part in this exercise, along with contributions from Mechanized Units and Special Operations Forces across all three branches of service. Additionally, experts specializing in Cyber and Space operations will join in the event.
The Indian Air Force will exhibit the capabilities of the C130, Mi-17 V5, along with demonstrating the air-portable BHISMA medical system. The U.S. contingent will include a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship, USS Comstock (LSD 45), carrying U.S. Marines from both the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. Additionally, they will feature an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), alongside a Navy P8A Poseidon aircraft.
The joint statement also noted that, "The US Space Force and Air Force are supporting the exercise with subject matter experts and a C-130J aircraft, respectively. The U.S. Army will be represented by a platoon, medical platoon, Civil-Military Operations Center and Multi-Domain Task Force Combined Information Effects Fusion Cell." (ANI)