The Indian Navy’s frigate INS Nilgiri has joined Exercise Kakadu 2026 in Australia, with the vessel taking part in the sea phase of the Royal Australian Navy-hosted multinational exercise during its deployment to the Western Pacific.

In a post on X, the Indian Navy said the deployment was aimed at strengthening naval interoperability, cooperation and maritime understanding among participating navies across the Indo-Pacific.

Hosted by Australia every two years, Exercise Kakadu is one of the region’s major maritime drills and, in 2026, brought together 19 nations and more than 6,000 personnel. Australian Defence says this year’s exercise is the 17th iteration of Kakadu and stretches across its biggest geographic footprint yet, from Jervis Bay to Darwin, underlining the scale of the operation and its focus on regional readiness.

India’s participation has already been visible in the lead-up to the main training series. Australian Defence said INS Nilgiri was among the partner warships involved in coordinated manoeuvres off Australia’s northern coast, alongside vessels from Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, while transiting down the east coast with HMAS Choules for the Kakadu Fleet Review in Sydney. Those manoeuvres were designed to sharpen ship-handling, improve coordination at sea and build interoperability between partner navies.

The exercise also carried symbolic weight in Australia, with 31 ships from 19 nations entering Sydney Harbour on 21 March for the Kakadu Fleet Review, the largest gathering of foreign warships in the harbour in more than a decade. Australian Defence described the event as both a naval tradition and a demonstration of shared commitment to maritime security and international cooperation, held alongside celebrations marking 125 years of the Australian Navy.

For India, INS Nilgiri’s presence in Australian waters comes as New Delhi continues to project its maritime capabilities more confidently across the Indo-Pacific. The deployment also coincides with preparations for the commissioning of INS Taragiri on 3 April in Visakhapatnam, a new stealth frigate that India’s Ministry of Defence says will be presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

According to India’s Press Information Bureau, Taragiri is the fourth Project 17A class platform, a 6,670-tonne frigate built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai with more than 75 per cent indigenous content. The vessel has been designed with reduced radar cross-section and is equipped for multi-dimensional operations, including surface warfare, air defence, anti-submarine warfare and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.

Taken together, Nilgiri’s role in Exercise Kakadu and Taragiri’s imminent induction point to India’s push to pair regional naval engagement with a growing self-reliant shipbuilding program. At a time of increasing strategic attention on the Indo-Pacific, the appearance of an Indian frontline frigate in Australia’s premier multinational maritime exercise also reflects the steadily deepening defence and security links between Canberra and New Delhi.

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