Tiger Triumph 2025 advances capabilities of Indian, U.S. forces
Lt. Cmdr. Seth Koenig/U.S. Navy
A large-scale amphibious landing drill highlighted the accomplishments of exercise Tiger Triumph 2025, a two-week engagement by Indian and United States forces in India in April. As personnel secured a beachhead, an aerial support team relayed observations and other data to ground forces at Kakinada Beach in the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
About 3,000 personnel, four ships and seven aircraft from the two countries participated in the fourth iteration of the joint, combined exercise, which enhances interoperability and readiness in the Indian Ocean region and beyond to support a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
VIDEO CREDIT: STAFF SGT. AARON IRVIN/U.S. AIR FORCE
Nearly 1,000 Indian and U.S. personnel conducted the amphibious landing. A humanitarian assistance and disaster relief drill called for the combined forces to secure a coastal site for a field hospital and supply distribution outpost after a simulated natural disaster.
The landing force included Indian Army personnel aboard landing craft launched from the Indian Navy amphibious transport ship INS Jalashwa, and U.S. Marines aboard an air-cushioned landing vessel launched from the U.S. Navy’s USS Comstock.
Support personnel included special operations forces from both countries, U.S. Army Soldiers from the 11th Airborne Division, and U.S. medical, legal and civil affairs teams. Indian Air Force and U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft simulated supply drops, and a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft gathered information above the operation area.
“The Tiger Triumph 2025 beach landing is the result of substantial gains in our level of integration with the Indian Armed Forces at all levels of the joint forces and in all domains,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Greg Newkirk, commander of the participating U.S. forces.
The exercise for the first time incorporated satellite and autonomous technologies, advancing training complexity. The sea phase included maneuvering drills, and integrated well-deck and flight-deck operations. Naval aircraft simulated anti-submarine warfare maneuvers in the Bay of Bengal.
Aerial detachments also participated in the amphibious landing, demonstrating that they can “directly support two very different missions in two different complex domains and enhance the outcome of both,” Newkirk said.
