- The Indian Navy conducted two-month long War Game which concluded on 28 Feb 18.
- All the operational ships, submarines and aircraft of the Navy along with men and equipment of the Army, all types of aircraft of the Air Force and ships and aircraft of the Coast Guard participated in the extensive War Games.
- Places: The War Games conducted on both the Seaboards of India extended from the Northern Arabian sea off the coast of Gujarat to the Southern Indian ocean off the Sunda Straits near Indonesia.
- ENCORE: The War Game on the Eastern seaboard was code named ENCORE (Eastern Naval Command Operational Readiness Exercise) .
- ‘Paschim Lehar: The War Games conducted on the Western seaboard was code named ‘Paschim Lehar’.
- Features: The War Games were the first of the kind to be conducted on both seaboards indicative of the Navy’s threat perceptions of a two-front war.
- The internal review undertaken by the Navy resulted in the ‘Mission-based Deployment’ concept which has been put into action since Jul 17.
- Mission-ready ships are now forward deployed in critical areas of the IOR with the inherent capability to respond to emerging threats and benign situations.
- Focus area: The focus has been on realistic scenarios likely to manifest in the future including terrorist attacks from sea on critical infrastructure and populated areas, Defence of the Offshore oil resources of the country and protection of the large seaborne trade of India.
- Coordination: The Navy, with the realisation that future conflicts and contingencies are likely to invariably be Tri-service in their responses, ensured the participation of the other services with critical capabilities and specialised equipment to ensure a National response to situations.
