The aim of the exercise is to fine-tune joint warfare capabilities and strengthen operational synergies between the three services, with high-tempo operations involving fighter jets, transport aircraft, helicopters, warships, infantry combat vehicles and special forces elements.

The exercise, codenamed Kavach (shield), takes place at a time when India and China are locked in a border standoff in the eastern Ladakh Theatre, and surveillance in the Indian Ocean Area (IOR) has been stepped up by the Indian Navy to keep track of China's moves to expand its footprint in strategic waters.

Synergized use of maritime surveillance forces, organized air and maritime strikes, air defense, submarine and landing operations would be included in the Kavach exercise.

Joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) activities involving the scientific, electronic, and human intelligence elements of the military will cover the scope of the exercise.

From conducting naval exercises with like-minded nations to reaching out to IOR states, India's emphasis remains on monitoring China's growing regional ambitions and sending out a clear message that the power play of Beijing in the South China Sea can not be replicated in the Indian Ocean.

Maritime Business World