On 11 November 2026 the Ministry of Defence announced that the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of Oman had conducted the 15th edition of Naseem Al Bahr, their bilateral maritime exercise. The name is Arabic for "Sea Breeze", and the exercise is among the oldest regular naval engagements India has with any Gulf country. Its stated aims are better interoperability, closer professional cooperation and mutual understanding between the two navies.
The same evening the Ministry also reported that the 8th India–Myanmar Naval Exercise (IMNEX-26) is under way at Visakhapatnam. Together the two releases show how the Navy uses exercises as diplomacy in the Indian Ocean: one partner to the west across the Arabian Sea, one to the east across the Bay of Bengal. This article takes the Oman exercise first, then the history and strategy behind it, then the Myanmar exercise in a short box.
The exercise at a glance
| Item | Detail (PIB release of 11 November 2026) |
|---|---|
| Exercise | Naseem Al Bahr (Sea Breeze), 15th edition |
| Partners | Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) |
| Indian ship | INS Surat |
| Omani vessel | Al-Mu'azzar (RNO Vessel) |
| Harbour phase | Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEE) on EOD, mine countermeasures, hydrography |
| Sea phase | Joint VBSS drills and cross-deck operations |
| Policy frame | Government's vision MAHASAGAR |
The release does not give the dates or the venue of this edition, so this article does not guess them. It does give the shape of the exercise, and that shape is the part examiners can use.
What the two navies actually did
Every Indian naval exercise with a partner has two halves, and Naseem Al Bahr follows the pattern.
The harbour phase takes place alongside, before the ships sail. Teams of specialists sit together in Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEEs), which are working sessions rather than ceremonies. This time they covered three fields.
- Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). Finding, identifying and safely neutralising mines, bombs and improvised explosive devices, including those found underwater or in ports.
- Mine countermeasure (MCM) operations. Mines are cheap, and a handful can close a harbour or a shipping lane. MCM is the craft of detecting and clearing them. It matters enormously near narrow waterways.
- Hydrography. The science of surveying the seabed, depths, tides and currents, which produces the nautical charts every ship relies on. It also serves the Navy's war needs, because a submarine or a minehunter is only as safe as the chart it carries.
The sea phase put the ships to work together. INS Surat and the Omani vessel Al-Mu'azzar carried out:
- Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS). A boarding team goes aboard a suspect merchant ship or dhow, searches it and, if needed, takes it under control. It is the core skill for counter-piracy, anti-smuggling and sanctions or embargo enforcement. Two navies that board ships the same way can run joint patrols and hand over a seized vessel without confusion.
- Cross-deck operations. Personnel move between the two ships, which builds trust, tests communications and lets each navy see how the other runs its ship.
Neither drill is glamorous, and that is the point. Interoperability is made of small procedures: the same signals, the same boarding sequence, the same words on the radio.
Why VBSS keeps appearing. The waters off Oman lead towards the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa, where piracy and smuggling have been recurring problems. Indian warships have been on anti-piracy and escort duty in these waters for years, so a shared boarding drill with the Omani navy has a direct use.
The Indian ship: INS Surat
INS Surat is the fourth and last destroyer of Project 15B, the Visakhapatnam class of stealth guided-missile destroyers. It was built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai, was delivered to the Navy on 20 December 2024, and was commissioned on 15 January 2025 at Mumbai, on the same day as the frigate INS Nilgiri and the submarine INS Vaghsheer. Choosing a ship of this class for a partner navy's exercise also advertises Indian shipbuilding. Our Defence GK page on surface ships lists the Navy's destroyer classes side by side.
Naseem Al Bahr through the years
The exercise has a long record, which is why it is a fair exam target.
| Year | Edition | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | First | The first Indian Navy–Royal Navy of Oman exercise, per PIB |
| 2022 | 13th | 19–24 Nov 2022, off the coast of Oman. INS Trikand and INS Sumitra, with a Dornier aircraft; debrief at the Omani naval base at Duqm. PIB noted that the year marked 30 years of bilateral exercises |
| 2024 | 14th (by count) | 13–18 Oct 2024, off Goa. INS Trikand and RNO Vessel Al Seeb; sea phase with gun firings, replenishment at sea approaches, and helicopter cross-deck landings |
| 2026 | 15th | INS Surat and Al-Mu'azzar, as above |
Three things stand out. First, PIB describes it as a biennial exercise, held since 1993. Second, the host alternates, with the 2022 edition off Oman and the 2024 edition off Goa. Third, each edition has grown more varied: the 2022 sea phase featured surface action, air defence, maritime surveillance and interdiction, and the 2024 edition added helicopter and aircraft work.
The 2024 release did not print the edition number. Counting from the 13th in 2022 and the 15th now, the 2024 edition was the 14th, which is a simple inference rather than a quoted figure.
Why Oman matters to India
Oman is one of the few countries a student can place on the map by the water around it. It sits at the south-eastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, with a long coastline on the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. Its Musandam peninsula juts into the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage through which a large share of the world's oil moves. For India, which imports most of its crude oil, the safety of that sea lane is not an abstract matter.
Four strands make up the relationship.
1. Geography and history. India and Oman are "maritime neighbours", with trade across the Arabian Sea older than any treaty. The Commerce Ministry's CEPA release of December 2025 notes that Indian merchant families have been present in Oman for 200 to 300 years, and that nearly 7 lakh Indians live there today (the Joint Statement puts the community at around 6,75,000). The two countries marked the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025.
2. Port access at Duqm (2018). In February 2018, during the Prime Minister's visit to Muscat, India and Oman signed an annexure to their military-cooperation MoU. Reports describe this as giving the Indian Navy access to Duqm, on Oman's Arabian Sea coast, for berthing, logistics support and ship maintenance at its port and dry dock. Duqm is a commercial port with a naval base and sits outside the Strait of Hormuz, a handy place to refuel and repair for ships operating in the western Indian Ocean. It is access to a partner's facilities, not an Indian base, and the full text of the arrangement is not public. Note how neatly it links to this year's story: the debrief of the 2022 exercise was held at Duqm.
3. Naval and security cooperation. The Navy lists a ladder of engagements with the Royal Navy of Oman: staff talks (the 6th round was held in June 2024), a white-shipping information-exchange MoU signed in September 2021, Chief of the Naval Staff visits, port calls such as the Navy's sail training ship INS Sudarshini at Salalah in February 2026, and joint work under the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS). White shipping means commercial ship movement data, and sharing it helps both navies see who is moving at sea.
4. Economics. India and Oman signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 18 December 2025, during the Prime Minister's visit of 17–18 December. Under it Oman offers zero-duty access on 98.08% of its tariff lines, covering 99.38% of India's exports to Oman by value. The agreement took effect on 1 June 2026, and our report on its first Varanasi export explains the difference between an FTA and a CEPA. During the same visit the two sides adopted a Joint Vision Document on Maritime Cooperation covering regional maritime security, the blue economy and the sustainable use of ocean resources, and agreed to enhance maritime domain awareness and information exchange to prevent maritime crime and piracy.
Put together, trade, ports and navies reinforce one another, and an exercise like Naseem Al Bahr is the visible, routine end of that structure.
The India–Oman exercise family
Naseem Al Bahr is the naval leg of a three-service set. Examiners like to ask which exercise belongs to which service, so keep the table close.
| Exercise | Service | Latest edition on record | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naseem Al Bahr (Sea Breeze) | Navy | 15th (Nov 2026) | Biennial since 1993 |
| Al Najah | Army | 5th, 13–26 Sep 2024, Rabkoot Training Area, Salalah, Oman | Held biennially since 2015, alternating between India and Oman. Counter-terrorism under Chapter VII of the UN Charter; desert environment; about 60 personnel each side |
| Eastern Bridge | Air Force | Eastern Bridge VII, Sep 2024, RAFO Air Base, Masirah | IAF MiG-29 and Jaguar with Royal Air Force of Oman F-16 and Hawk aircraft. The previous edition, Eastern Bridge-VI, was in February 2022 |
The spelling "Al Najah" is the form PIB uses for the army exercise. Note that the three exercises use different Arabic names for different services, which is a classic place for a mix-up in a matching question.
Box: IMNEX-26, the Myanmar exercise
The Ministry's second release of the evening covered a different partner and a different sea.
- What: the 8th edition of the India–Myanmar Naval Exercise (IMNEX-26).
- Where and when: Visakhapatnam, 10 to 14 November 2026.
- Who: the Myanmar Navy Ship UMS King Sin Phyu Shin with Indian ships INS Rana (a guided-missile destroyer) and INS Sumedha (a Saryu-class offshore patrol vessel). The opening ceremony was held on board INS Rana on 10 November.
- Shape: a harbour phase of professional exchanges, SMEEs, cross-deck visits, sporting engagements and discussions on operational matters, followed by a sea phase of coordinated operations and tactical manoeuvres.
- Context: the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, visited Myanmar on 2–5 May 2026. PIB lists the Navy's links with Myanmar as the Defence Cooperation Meeting, staff talks, training, IMNEX, the Indo-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR), port visits and hydrography surveys.
Myanmar is a land and sea neighbour, with its coast on the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Our earlier report on Rahat Mitra, the first India–Myanmar joint relief exercise covers the humanitarian side of the same relationship.
The idea that ties both together: MAHASAGAR
Both releases end the same way, by placing the exercise within MAHASAGAR, which stands for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions. It builds on the earlier SAGAR doctrine (Security and Growth for All in the Region) announced in 2015 and widens it beyond the Indian Ocean's immediate rim. In practice it means the Navy acting as a net security provider and a first responder, and building partnerships through exercises, training, hydrography, port calls and information sharing. For the policy's wider setting see our report on Vision MAHASAGAR and India–Seychelles.
What to remember about the pattern
- Exercises are sequenced. Harbour talks first, sea drills after, a debrief at the end. Questions ask for the order.
- Partners are matched to needs. Mine countermeasures and hydrography matter where narrow waters and busy lanes exist, which is exactly Oman's geography.
- The Navy's calendar is dense. The Ministry issued the Naseem Al Bahr and IMNEX releases within minutes of each other, one for the Arabian Sea and one for the Bay of Bengal. This is what a two-ocean Navy looks like in practice, a theme developed in our Indian Navy Defence GK section.
- Edition numbers are exam material. 15th Naseem Al Bahr, 8th IMNEX, 5th Al Najah, 7th Eastern Bridge (as of 2024) are the sort of numbers that appear in one-line questions.
🔑 Revision block
The news. The Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of Oman held the 15th Naseem Al Bahr ("Sea Breeze"), announced 11 Nov 2026. INS Surat with RNOV Al-Mu'azzar; harbour-phase SMEEs on EOD, mine countermeasures, hydrography; sea phase of VBSS and cross-deck operations. Frame: MAHASAGAR.
History. First exercise 1993; biennial; 13th Nov 2022 (off Oman, debrief at Duqm); 2024 off Goa (INS Trikand, RNOV Al Seeb); 15th in 2026.
INS Surat. Fourth and last Project 15B (Visakhapatnam-class) destroyer; MDL; delivered 20 Dec 2024; commissioned 15 Jan 2025.
Ties. Duqm access: Feb 2018 (annexure to MoU on military cooperation). CEPA signed 18 Dec 2025, in force 1 Jun 2026; zero duty on 98.08% of Oman's tariff lines. Joint Vision on Maritime Cooperation, Dec 2025. 70 years of diplomatic ties (2025). White-shipping MoU Sep 2021.
Exercise family. Navy Naseem Al Bahr; Army Al Najah (5th, Sep 2024, Salalah, since 2015); Air Force Eastern Bridge (VII, Sep 2024, Masirah).
IMNEX-26. 8th edition, Visakhapatnam, 10–14 Nov 2026; UMS King Sin Phyu Shin with INS Rana and INS Sumedha; opening on INS Rana.
🎯 Practice MCQs
Q1. Naseem Al Bahr, the exercise whose 15th edition has just been held, is conducted by the Indian Navy with the navy of:
(a) Oman
(b) Qatar
(c) Myanmar
(d) Australia
→ (a)
It is the Indian Navy–Royal Navy of Oman exercise, first held in 1993. Qatar's exercise is Zair-Al-Bahr and Myanmar's is IMNEX.
Q2. The Indian ship that took part in the 15th Naseem Al Bahr was INS Surat, which belongs to:
(a) Kolkata-class destroyers (Project 15A)
(b) Visakhapatnam-class destroyers (Project 15B)
(c) Nilgiri-class frigates (Project 17A)
(d) Saryu-class offshore patrol vessels
→ (b)
INS Surat is the fourth and last Project 15B destroyer, commissioned on 15 January 2025. The Saryu class is the offshore patrol vessel class to which INS Sumedha belongs.
Q3. Consider the following statements about VBSS drills, which featured in the sea phase:
1. VBSS stands for Visit, Board, Search and Seizure.
2. It is mainly a skill for counter-piracy, anti-smuggling and embargo enforcement.
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
→ (c)
Both are correct. VBSS is the standard boarding drill used against piracy, smuggling and other illegal activity at sea.
Q4. In the harbour phase of the 15th Naseem Al Bahr, the Subject Matter Expert Exchanges covered which of the following?
(a) Submarine rescue, aerial refuelling and missile firing
(b) Cyber defence, space surveillance and satellite navigation
(c) Amphibious landing, mountain warfare and desert survival
(d) Explosive Ordnance Disposal, mine countermeasures and hydrography
→ (d)
These are the three fields named in the release. All three suit narrow, busy waters where mines and poor charts are the main hazards.
Q5. Match the India–Oman exercise to its service:
(a) Naseem Al Bahr: Indian Navy
(b) Al Najah: Indian Navy
(c) Eastern Bridge: Indian Army
(d) Naseem Al Bahr: Indian Air Force
→ (a)
Naseem Al Bahr is the naval exercise, Al Najah the army exercise and Eastern Bridge the air force exercise.
Q6. In February 2018 India obtained access for berthing and logistics support at which Omani port?
(a) Salalah
(b) Sohar
(c) Muscat
(d) Duqm
→ (d)
Duqm, on Oman's Arabian Sea coast with a dry dock, is the port. The debrief of the 2022 Naseem Al Bahr was also held there. Salalah is where the Indian Army exercise Al Najah V was held in 2024.
Q7. MAHASAGAR, the vision named in both PIB releases, expands which earlier Indian Ocean doctrine?
(a) Act East
(b) SAGAR
(c) Neighbourhood First
(d) Project Mausam
→ (b)
SAGAR stands for Security and Growth for All in the Region. MAHASAGAR widens it to Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.
Q8. Consider the following statements about the India–Myanmar Naval Exercise (IMNEX-26):
1. It is the 8th edition and is being held at Visakhapatnam.
2. INS Rana and INS Sumedha are the Indian ships taking part.
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
→ (c)
The release states both: the 8th edition at Visakhapatnam from 10 to 14 November 2026, with INS Rana and INS Sumedha alongside Myanmar Navy Ship UMS King Sin Phyu Shin.
📋 How this gets asked (PYQ pattern)
Bilateral exercises are a steady source of one-mark defence questions, and they are usually asked in three ways.
The first is matching the exercise to its partner and service: Naseem Al Bahr with Oman, Zair-Al-Bahr with Qatar, Varuna with France, Malabar with the Quad navies, Al Najah and Eastern Bridge with Oman's army and air force. The examiner puts a navy exercise against an army country and sees who notices.
The second is geography and ports: where is Duqm, which sea does Oman face, which strait does Musandam overlook. Maps of the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman are worth a ten-minute sketch.
The third is terms and doctrine: what VBSS, SMEE, EOD, MCM and hydrography mean, and what MAHASAGAR stands for. This cycle's fresh hooks are the 15th edition, INS Surat (Project 15B), the CEPA in force since 1 June 2026, and IMNEX-26 at Visakhapatnam.
Preparing for NDA? Defence exercises, naval ship classes and the Indian Ocean map are high-yield GK and strong SSB talking points. Revise them in our NDA study material, follow the daily NDA current affairs, and learn with serving-officer faculty in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
Source: PIB / Ministry of Defence, "Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Oman conduct 15th edition of bilateral maritime exercise Naseem Al Bahr" and "8th edition of India–Myanmar Naval Exercise (IMNEX-26) commences at Visakhapatnam", both 11 November 2026. Earlier editions and exercises from PIB releases of 24 November 2022, 20 October 2024, 12 September 2024 and 21 September 2024; INS Surat from PIB releases of 20 December 2024 and 1 January 2025; Oman ties from the India–Oman Joint Statement and the Ministry of Commerce release of 18 December 2025. Duqm access (February 2018) from published news reports of the Prime Minister's Muscat visit.
✍️ Written by Col Vijayant Thakur — Veteran, Indian Army; SSB & defence-studies faculty at The Cavalier. Reviewed by the Cavalier Faculty Desk.