VISAKHAPATNAM, October 21 — The Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) inaugurated the 31st edition of the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX-2026) under the aegis of the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
Recognized as the longest uninterrupted naval exercise that India conducts with any international partner, SIMBEX-2026 brings together frontline Eastern Fleet guided-missile destroyers, anti-submarine warfare corvettes, conventional submarines, and P-8I reconnaissance aircraft alongside RSN’s Formidable-class stealth frigate. The exercise is structured across an intensive harbour professional exchange phase followed by multi-dimensional tactical drills in the Bay of Bengal.
Naval leadership highlighted that the sea phase focuses on complex anti-submarine warfare (ASW) hunting, coordinated anti-air missile defence, cross-deck helicopter landings, and real-time maritime domain awareness sharing across critical Indo-Pacific chokepoints bordering the Strait of Malacca.
The historical trajectory of SIMBEX (initiated as Exercise Lion King in 1994), complementary bilateral exercises with Singapore (Bold Kurukshetra for Army, SITMEX trilateral exercise with Thailand), and the maritime pillar of India’s Act East Policy represent essential study themes in UPSC GS-II and defence service examinations.