Japan Self-Defense Force Destroyer Ariake Joins India’s Destroyer Delhi in Joint Operation Against Enemy Submarine

Joint training exercise by Japan, the U.S., India, and Australia

The Japan Self-Defense Force’s destroyer “Ariake” cuts through the Indian Ocean at 20 knots, with India’s heavily-armed destroyer “Delhi” running parallel about 300 meters to its right.

The nearly 160-meter-long Indian-made “Delhi,” recently equipped with the BrahMos cruise missile, appears larger than the “Ariake.” Along with these two ships, four countries—Japan, the United States, India, and Australia—have joined forces, with eight ships in total, to conduct a joint operation in the Indian Ocean to neutralize enemy vessels.

This took place from October 8 to 18, as part of the Japan-US-India-Australia joint exercise “Malabar 2024” off the coast of Vishakhapatnam, India.

The four countries are members of the “Quad” alliance, working together on security and economic cooperation with the goal of realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Specially allowed aboard the “Ariake,” the author was able to closely cover all training exercises, including anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.

Distance shortened through personnel exchanges

On the 15th, Japan, the U.S., India, and Australia focused their efforts on a practical exercise to “search for and destroy enemy submarines.” Two Indian Navy submarines played the role of enemy forces.

The “Ariake” used a towed array sonar, a black cable with a hydrophone at the end, deployed from the ship’s stern to detect submarine sounds. This sonar, widely used globally, was complemented by patrol helicopters from the Indian and Australian navies in the search for the submarines. The training, which involved detecting and addressing submarines from scratch, lasted an entire day and night.

As part of the effort to strengthen cooperation, personnel exchanges were also conducted during the exercise. Throughout the training, two Indian Navy officers boarded the “Ariake” as liaison officers.

On the morning of the 16th, Self-Defense Force personnel, wearing navy blue coveralls and armed with pistols, were lined up on the “Ariake’s” rear deck for a boarding operation aimed at suspicious ships. After observing the training, an Indian Navy officer, who had led special forces operations, demonstrated India’s methods of vessel boarding and advised the Japanese on their training techniques, offering constructive criticism.

During free time between training sessions, the Indian officers were seen shopping for “Ariake” logo T-shirts as souvenirs, promising to bring them back for their families.

The two officers spent the night alongside Japanese personnel. When “JMSDF curry” was served, the Japanese, aware that Indians don’t typically eat curry with rice, had prepared naan for the officers. When they tried the curry with naan, they responded with a thumbs up, though they added some spices to increase the heat, joking that the level of spiciness would be too much for the Japanese.

Despite the geographical distance between Japan and India, the bonds between the participants clearly grew closer. The training suggested the potential evolution of the “Quad” into an “Indo-Pacific NATO.”