An Indian warship has tied up at one of the most important naval bases in the western Pacific. On 4 November 2026, INS Sahyadri, a guided-missile stealth frigate of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet, arrived at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, to take part in the multilateral exercise Malabar 2026. The Ministry of Defence announced the arrival on 5 November.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) gave the ship a formal welcome. The ceremony was attended by Vice Admiral Yagi Koji, Commandant of the Yokosuka District, and Shri R Madhu Sudan, Deputy Chief of the Indian Mission in Japan. Malabar 2026 brings together the navies of India, Japan, the United States and Australia. These are the same four countries that make up the Quad, and that overlap is the reason the exercise draws so much attention.
This article explains what Malabar is and how it grew, why the setting matters, what the Shivalik-class frigate is, and how this visit fits into the Navy's busy autumn. The press release does not give the dates of the sea phase, so we do not guess at them.
What the release says
The Navy describes the exercise in two parts.
- Harbour phase. Professional interactions between the crews and coordinated planning, ashore and alongside. This is where procedures, communication plans and the scenario for the sea phase are agreed.
- Sea phase. INS Sahyadri will sail with participating units of the United States, Australia and Japan for the practical drills.
The stated aims are to improve operational coordination, strengthen interoperability and exchange professional expertise. The release adds that these engagements strengthen mutual trust "while contributing to a secure and stable Indo-Pacific", and links Sahyadri's visit to MAHASAGAR, the vision announced by the Prime Minister in March 2025 as the broader successor to the earlier SAGAR idea. We explained MAHASAGAR in more detail when the Navy chief visited Mauritius. The name stands for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.
A word on interoperability, which every Navy release uses. It means the ability of ships from different countries to work as one force: to talk on compatible radios and data links, to follow the same signal and manoeuvring rules, to refuel from each other's tankers, and to land each other's helicopters. None of that happens by accident. It is learned by doing it together, again and again, which is why navies spend so much on exercises.
Malabar since 1992
The word comes from the Malabar coast of south-western India, off which the first exercise took place. It began in 1992 as a small bilateral exercise between the navies of India and the United States. The Ministry of Defence's own account is that it started as an annual bilateral exercise and gained prominence when Japan and Australia joined.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1992 | First Malabar: India and the US, bilateral |
| 1998 | The US suspended the series after India's nuclear tests; it resumed in 2002 |
| 2007 | Bay of Bengal edition with five navies (India, the US, Japan, Australia and Singapore), 27 ships; the largest early edition (Japan had already joined a phase off Okinawa earlier that year) |
| 2008 | Scaled back to India and the US again |
| 2015 | Japan joined as a permanent participant |
| 2020 | Australia took part, hosted by the Indian Navy, completing the four-navy format |
| 2022 | Hosted by the JMSDF in the seas off Japan; the sea phase was held near Yokosuka |
| 2024 | Visakhapatnam, 8–18 October |
| 2025 | Harbour phase at Guam, with INS Sahyadri taking part |
| 2026 | INS Sahyadri at Yokosuka, Japan |
Two details deserve a second look.
First, the 2022 edition. According to the Ministry of Defence, it saw live weapon firings, surface, anti-air and anti-submarine drills and a War at Sea exercise. It involved eleven surface ships, including a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, two submarines and four long-range maritime patrol aircraft. India sent the Eastern Fleet ships Shivalik and Kamorta. The release also noted that the bilateral logistics support agreements between the participating countries were put to the test. That is a useful reminder that India's logistics pacts (with the US, LEMOA was signed in 2016) are meant to be used at sea, for example when one navy refuels or restocks at another's port.
Second, the host rotates. India hosted in 2020 and 2024, Japan in 2022, and the exercise has also been held off Guam and in Australian waters. So a Malabar at Yokosuka is a return to a familiar venue, not a first.
Malabar and the Quad: related, not the same
It is easy to treat the two as one thing, but they are different.
Malabar is an exercise. It began in 1992, long before the Quad existed in its current form. It is run between navies.
The Quad is a diplomatic grouping of India, Japan, the United States and Australia. Its first meeting was held in 2007, it went quiet after 2008, and it was revived at the level of senior officials in November 2017. The first meeting of the four leaders took place virtually on 12 March 2021, and the first in-person leaders' summit in Washington followed on 24 September 2021. Indian officials consistently describe it as a forum for cooperation on a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, not a military alliance.
The two overlap because the four countries are the same, and because Australia's return to Malabar in 2020 made the exercise a four-navy event for the first time in over a decade. The Ministry's 2021 reply in the Rajya Sabha put it in careful language: the exercises "highlight the convergence of views" on maritime issues and a shared commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order. We looked at the diplomatic side of this triangle when Rajnath Singh met Japan's and America's defence leaders at Cebu last week, and at the Japan relationship when Japan's defence minister visited Delhi in August.
Memory line: Malabar = naval exercise, since 1992, India–US first. Quad = diplomatic forum of four. Japan 2015, Australia 2020.
Why Yokosuka
Yokosuka is a port city in Kanagawa Prefecture, at the mouth of Tokyo Bay, about an hour's drive from Tokyo. It is one of the main bases of the JMSDF and also the home of US Fleet Activities Yokosuka, the base of the US Seventh Fleet, the largest American forward-deployed fleet. Few harbours in the world hold the navies of two treaty allies side by side, which makes it a natural place for the harbour phase of a multinational exercise.
For India the visit carries a second message. An Eastern Fleet frigate has sailed from the Bay of Bengal to the Sea of Japan and the Pacific side of Honshu. That is a long way from the Indian Ocean, which the Navy has traditionally seen as its main area of responsibility, and it reflects the idea behind the term Indo-Pacific, the single strategic space that joins the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The route Sahyadri has sailed in recent weeks makes the point: she was at Busan in South Korea for the India–Republic of Korea Navy bilateral exercise, which concluded on 29 October 2026 with the Korean destroyer ROKS Munmu the Great, and then went on to Japan.
INS Sahyadri and the Shivalik class
INS Sahyadri (pennant F49) is the third ship of the Shivalik class, also called Project 17. All three were built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai.
| Ship | Pennant | Commissioned |
|---|---|---|
| INS Shivalik | F47 | 29 April 2010 |
| INS Satpura | F48 | 20 August 2011 |
| INS Sahyadri | F49 | 21 July 2012 |
The Ministry of Defence says only that Sahyadri was designed, constructed and commissioned in India in 2012; the other dates come from open sources and agree with the 2010–2012 span usually quoted for the class.
Why the class matters. The Shivalik class was the first group of stealth frigates built in India. It followed the Russian-built Talwar-class frigates that the Navy had bought, and in turn it is the design from which the newer Project 17A (Nilgiri class) was developed. That gives a three-step line which the exam likes: Talwar (imported) to Shivalik (P17) to Nilgiri (P17A). We covered the third step when the Navy commissioned INS Mahendragiri, the sixth P17A frigate.
What "stealth" means. A stealth ship is not invisible. It is built to be harder to detect and track:
- Radar signature. Angled, flat hull and superstructure surfaces scatter radar waves away from the transmitter instead of reflecting them straight back, and radar-absorbing materials soak up part of the rest.
- Infrared signature. Hot exhaust is cooled or screened, so heat-seeking sensors have less to lock on to.
- Acoustic signature. Machinery is mounted on vibration-damping supports to reduce the noise that submarines and sonar can pick up.
Numbers to remember. Open sources put the class at about 6,200 tonnes full load, roughly 143 metres long, with a top speed of about 32 knots, driven by a CODOG system (Combined Diesel or Gas turbine: diesels for cruising, gas turbines for a sprint). The crew is about 250. The ships can embark two helicopters and carry a medium-calibre main gun, close-in guns, surface-to-air missiles, anti-submarine rocket launchers and torpedo tubes, with anti-ship missiles in the class. The Navy does not publish the exact fit of individual ships, so treat the weapon list as the class description rather than a statement about Sahyadri on this deployment.
Frigate, destroyer, corvette. As a rough rule of thumb, corvettes are the smallest of the three, frigates sit in the middle and are built mainly for anti-submarine and general escort work, and destroyers are the largest and carry the heaviest air-defence and strike weapons. The lines blur between navies, and a 6,000-tonne "frigate" is close to destroyer size in many fleets.
The Eastern Fleet. Sahyadri belongs to the Eastern Fleet, headquartered at Visakhapatnam under the Eastern Naval Command. The Western Fleet is based at Mumbai. The Eastern Fleet is the one that normally deploys towards South-East Asia and the Pacific, which is why it provides the ship for Malabar in Japan and Guam.
A frigate with a busy autumn
Taken together, Sahyadri's recent movements show how the Navy uses a single ship over several weeks:
- A bilateral exercise with the Republic of Korea Navy at Busan, ending on 29 October.
- A multilateral exercise at Yokosuka with three navies, starting in early November.
At Busan the release describes cross-deck visits, operational briefings, subject matter expert exchanges, helicopter operations and joint manoeuvres. The same pattern repeats at every port: talk, visit and train in harbour, then drill at sea. A visit like this also has a quieter purpose, which is naval diplomacy: letting each country see the other's ships, officers and procedures at close range builds trust that can matter in a crisis. India has a standing ritual for it, the port call, and the Navy uses it often.
What to watch next
- The sea-phase details. The Ministry usually issues a closing release listing the drills held, the ships and aircraft involved and the host navy's commander. That release is the source of exam-worthy numbers.
- Who else joins. Malabar's format has changed before, and it may do so again. Treat any new participant as a major news item.
- The pattern of rotation. India hosted in 2024, so the next Indian-hosted edition is not due yet.
🔑 Revision block
The news. INS Sahyadri (Eastern Fleet, Shivalik class) reached Yokosuka, Japan, on 4 November 2026 for Malabar 2026; PIB release of 5 November. Welcomed by the JMSDF; VAdm Yagi Koji, Commandant Yokosuka District, attended.
Participants. India, Japan, the US, Australia. Two phases: harbour (planning, interactions) and sea (drills).
Malabar timeline. 1992 India–US start · 1998 suspended after nuclear tests, resumed 2002 · 2007 five navies, Bay of Bengal · 2015 Japan permanent · 2020 Australia joins · 2022 off Japan near Yokosuka · 2024 Visakhapatnam · 2025 Guam.
Quad. Diplomatic forum, not an alliance: 2007 first meeting · 2017 revival · 12 Mar 2021 virtual leaders' meeting · 24 Sep 2021 first in-person leaders' summit.
Ship. INS Sahyadri (F49), third of Shivalik/Project 17, built by MDL Mumbai, commissioned 2012. Class: Shivalik F47 (2010), Satpura F48 (2011), Sahyadri F49 (2012). About 6,200 t, CODOG, first Indian stealth frigates. Lineage: Talwar, Shivalik, Nilgiri (P17A).
Vision. MAHASAGAR = Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions (March 2025). Sahyadri was at Busan (India–ROK exercise) until 29 Oct 2026.
🎯 Practice MCQs
Q1. Exercise Malabar 2026 brings together the navies of:
(a) India, Japan, the United States and Australia
(b) India, Japan, the United States and South Korea
(c) India, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom
(d) India, Japan, France and Australia
→ (a)
PIB names India, Japan, the United States and Australia. South Korea took part in a separate bilateral exercise with INS Sahyadri at Busan.
Q2. Exercise Malabar began in 1992 as a bilateral naval exercise between India and:
(a) Japan
(b) Australia
(c) the United States
(d) Singapore
→ (c)
It started as an India–US exercise off the Malabar coast. Japan joined permanently in 2015 and Australia in 2020.
Q3. Japan became a permanent participant in Malabar in:
(a) 2007
(b) 2015
(c) 2017
(d) 2020
→ (b)
The Ministry of Defence states that Japan joined in 2015. Australia's participation came in 2020.
Q4. INS Sahyadri, which has reached Yokosuka for Malabar 2026, belongs to which class of ships?
(a) Kolkata class
(b) Talwar class
(c) Project 17A (Nilgiri class)
(d) Shivalik class
→ (d)
Sahyadri is the third ship of the Shivalik class (Project 17), built by Mazagon Dock and commissioned in 2012.
Q5. Consider the following statements about the Shivalik class:
1. All three ships were built by Mazagon Dock in Mumbai.
2. INS Sahyadri was the first ship of the class to be commissioned.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
→ (a)
Statement 1 is correct. INS Shivalik was the first (2010), then Satpura (2011) and Sahyadri (2012), so statement 2 is wrong.
Q6. Yokosuka, the venue for the harbour phase of Malabar 2026, is a naval base on:
(a) Osaka Bay
(b) the Seto Inland Sea
(c) the coast of Hokkaido
(d) Tokyo Bay
→ (d)
Yokosuka lies at the mouth of Tokyo Bay and hosts both JMSDF facilities and the US Seventh Fleet's base.
Q7. MAHASAGAR, the vision mentioned in the Navy's release, stands for:
(a) Maritime Alliance for Harmony and Security Across the Global Region
(b) Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions
(c) Maritime and Humanitarian Assistance for Growth and Regional Resilience
(d) Multilateral Action for Harbour Security and Growth Across Regions
→ (b)
MAHASAGAR was announced in March 2025 as the broader successor to the SAGAR idea of 2015.
Q8. Which of the following is most characteristic of the sea phase, rather than the harbour phase, of a naval exercise?
(a) Operational planning discussions
(b) Cross-deck visits and sports fixtures
(c) Anti-submarine and gunnery drills
(d) Subject matter expert exchanges
→ (c)
Harbour phases cover planning, visits and exchanges. Weapon firings and anti-submarine drills belong to the sea phase.
📋 How this gets asked (PYQ pattern)
Naval exercises are a regular feature of the NDA general-knowledge paper, and the questions come in three recognisable forms.
The first is the exercise-country pairing: a list of exercises matched with partner countries, such as Malabar, JIMEX or JAIMEX, Varuna, Konkan and AUSINDEX. Malabar is the one with four participants, so it is the usual odd one out. Q1 above is the pattern.
The second is history and dates: the year an exercise began and the year a new partner joined. Options usually place neighbouring years side by side (1992, 2007, 2015, 2020), as in Q3. The safe memory device is that each new partner follows a political milestone.
The third is ships and classes: which class a named ship belongs to, which yard built it, and the order of classes. Expect the Talwar to Shivalik to Nilgiri line, the pennant letter for frigates (F) and the builder name, as in Q4 and Q5.
Preparing for NDA? Keep one page that lists every major exercise with its partner, its Service and the year it began; Malabar belongs on the Navy list. Build the base with our NDA study material, follow the daily NDA current affairs, and train with serving-standard faculty in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
Source: PIB / Ministry of Defence, "INDIAN NAVAL SHIP SAHYADRI ARRIVES AT YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, JAPAN FOR EXERCISE MALABAR 2026", 5 November 2026; "INS Sahyadri concludes India–Republic of Korea Navy bilateral exercise at Busan", 3 November 2026; earlier releases on Malabar (8 February 2021, 16 November 2022, 19 October 2024, 9 November 2025). Malabar and Quad history, Yokosuka, and Shivalik-class dates and specifications cross-checked with open sources; they are reference background, not part of the 2026 release.
✍️ Written by Col Vijayant Thakur — Veteran, Indian Army; SSB & defence-studies faculty at The Cavalier. Reviewed by the Cavalier Faculty Desk.