QUAD First Field Training Exercise (FTX) 2025 under the Indo-Pacific Logistics Network (IPLN)

Introduction

• Quad countries — Australia, India, Japan, and the United States — conducted their first Field Training Exercise (FTX) under the IPLN.
• The exercise took place at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
• It was held on the sidelines of Operation Christmas Drop.

Why in news?

• This was the inaugural FTX conducted by Quad nations under the IPLN framework.
• It marked a coordinated effort aligned with an ongoing activity at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

Background

• The Indo-Pacific Logistics Network (IPLN) is a joint Quad initiative.
• It is designed to strengthen shared logistics capabilities.
• It seeks to enhance coordinated disaster response among Quad partners.
• The IPLN aims to enable quicker and more effective responses during large-scale natural disasters in the Indo-Pacific region.

Significance

• The FTX advances the IPLN’s objectives through practical, on-ground coordination.
• It supports faster, more effective disaster response among Quad countries.
• It builds interoperable logistics capabilities for large-scale natural disaster scenarios in the Indo-Pacific.
• Subtopic: Facts/General knowledge
• Participants: Australia, India, Japan, and the United States (Quad).
• Exercise type: Field Training Exercise (FTX).
• Framework: Indo-Pacific Logistics Network (IPLN).
• Location: Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
• Context: Conducted on the sidelines of Operation Christmas Drop.

SAGAR and Indian Ocean Security

Introduction

• SAGAR: Security and Growth for All in the Region frames India’s approach to the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
• The IOR is central to India’s economic security, strategic autonomy, and role as a net security provider.
• The Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) has evolved into a cooperative platform addressing maritime security, counter-terrorism, trafficking, and cybersecurity, reflecting regional appetite for collaboration but remaining fluid due to differing national priorities and domestic uncertainties.

Why in news?

• In November 2025, India hosted the 7th NSA-level Colombo Security Conclave where Seychelles joined as a full member, solidifying a six-nation security bloc to counter Chinese naval entrenchment.
• The 2025 summit underscores India’s renewed push to shape the emerging security architecture of the IOR.

Background

• What began as a stalled trilateral in 2011 has expanded into a broader CSC platform.
• Anchoring the “Neighbourhood First” policy, India is institutionalising security architectures that bind littoral states, shifting from a passive observer to an active norm-builder for regional stability.

Significance

• Geopolitical leadership and regional cohesion:
• Countering extra-regional influence by consolidating cooperative security among littoral states.
• The 7th CSC marked India’s anchoring role as a convener and norm-setter in the IOR.
• Role as a net security provider and first responder:
• Humanitarian diplomacy builds strategic trust.
• Operation Sagar Bandhu deployed INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri and air assets to flood-hit Sri Lanka, outpacing rivals’ deliberations.
• Strategic connectivity and Central Asian access:The ocean provides a viable corridor bypassing hostile land borders to reach Central Asia and Afghanistan.

• India secured a US sanction waiver (November 2025) for Chabahar Port after a 10-year operation pact (May 2024), ensuring trade flows despite geopolitical friction.
• Blue economy and deep-sea resource rights: Access to polymetallic nodules and sulphides supports clean-energy transitions and reduces dependency on Chinese mineral monopolies.

• A 15-year contract (September 2025) with the International Seabed Authority for mining rights in the Carlsberg Ridge unlocks copper and zinc potential.
• Technological frontier and scientific prestige: Deep-ocean mastery enhances technological prowess linked to submarine warfare and underwater surveillance.

• The Samudrayaan Mission progressed with Matsya-6000 prototypes completing 500 m depth qualification trials, backed by a ₹4,077 crore budget to achieve manned deep-sea capability by 2026.
• Energy security and protection of SLOCs: The Strait of Hormuz is vital, with more than two-thirds of crude oil imports and nearly 50% of LNG imports transiting this route.

• Operation Sankalp protects Indian merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and other high-risk Persian Gulf zones.

Facts/General knowledge

• Key challenges in the IOR:Grey-zone warfare and scientific espionage:

• China uses “civilian” research vessels to map seabeds for submarine operations under the guise of science; legal frameworks like UNCLOS inadequately restrict this.
• A swarm of four Chinese vessels entered the IOR as India issued a NOTAM for a missile test (later postponed), gathering acoustic signatures of strategic assets.
• Pendulum politics of littoral states:Smaller island nations leverage the “China card”, oscillating between “India First” and “India Out”.

• The Maldives pivoted back to India after a pro-China drift; India extended $400 million support and a ₹3,000 crore bilateral currency swap, neutralising an earlier defence pact with Beijing.
• Subsurface nuclear rivalry and second-strike stability:With China’s advanced SSBN deployments (including quieter Type 096), India accelerated INS Aridhaman sea trials to commission its third SSBN for continuous deterrence.

• Weaponisation of dual-use infrastructure:BRI ports are becoming de facto PLA Navy logistics bases.

• Expanded “logistics facilities” at Kyaukphyu (Myanmar) and Gwadar (Pakistan), capable of docking aircraft carriers, flank India’s Andaman & Nicobar Command from east and west.
• Illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing and resource plunder:
• Satellite data (2025) showed over 600 Chinese trawlers annually in the Western IOR, often “going dark” (AIS off); India has enhanced IFC-IOR monitoring.
• India also faces an intensifying fisheries dispute with Sri Lanka in the Palk Bay.
• Infrastructure vulnerability to climate change:The Maldives has the lowest terrain globally, with more than 80% of islands less than 1 m above mean sea level, posing climate-security risks.

• In India, installations in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and naval airfields such as INS Baaz (Campbell Bay) are highly vulnerable to coastal erosion and storm surges, endangering readiness and surveillance capabilities.

Exercise EKUVERIN

Introduction

• A bilateral joint military exercise between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

Why in news?

• The 14th edition has commenced in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Background

• The name EKUVERIN means “friends” in Dhivehi.
• Conducted alternately in India and the Maldives since 2009.

Significance

• Aligns with India’s Neighbourhood First policy and strengthens regional partnerships.
• Reinforces both countries’ commitment to security and stability in the Indian Ocean Region.
• Enhances interoperability in Counter-Insurgency and Counter-Terrorism operations across jungle, semi-urban and coastal areas.

Facts/General knowledge

• India–Maldives defence relations feature bilateral exercises like “Ekuverin” and “Ekatha,” and the trilateral “Dosti” with Sri Lanka to enhance operational synergy and interoperability.
• India is the Maldives’ key defence partner and first responder in crises, as seen in Operation Cactus (1988) and post-2004 tsunami assistance.
• Cooperation is guided by India’s Neighbourhood First and SAGAR vision.
• The Annual Defence Cooperation Dialogue (DCD), launched in 2016 at the Defence Secretary level, is the main platform for reviewing and guiding India–Maldives defence cooperation.

Exercise Garuda Shakti

Introduction

• Exercise Garuda Shakti is a bilateral Special Forces exercise between India and Indonesia
• It is conducted annually to enhance defence cooperation and strengthen operational synergy

Why in news?

• The 10th edition has begun at the Special Forces Training School, Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh

Background

• Participating contingents:

India: Troops from The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces)

• Indonesia: Special Forces personnel from the Indonesian Army

Significance

• Strengthens mutual understanding between the participating Special Forces
• Enhances interoperability and coordination in Special Forces operations
• Facilitates exchange of expertise on weapons, equipment and operational practices
• Enables joint validation through simulated real-world operational scenarios
• Tests endurance, coordination and combat preparedness

Facts/General knowledge

• Focus areas include:
• Troop-level tactics, techniques and procedures
• Unarmed combat techniques
• Combat shooting and sniping
• Heliborne operations
• Planning and execution of drone, counter-UAS and loiter-munition strikes
• Training is conducted in semi-mountainous terrain
• The exercise covers an extensive range of counter-terrorism and Special Forces operations

Exercise Harimau Shakti 2025

Introduction

• Bilateral military exercise between the Indian Army and the Malaysian Army.
• Focuses on jungle warfare and counter-insurgency operations.
• Reinforces India’s Act East Policy and commitment to global peacekeeping frameworks.

Why in news?

• The 5th edition commenced in Rajasthan.
• Aims to enhance interoperability in counter-terrorism and peacekeeping scenarios.
• Participants in 2025: Indian Dogra Regiment and Malaysia’s 25th Battalion Royal Malaysian Army.

Background

• Started in 2012 as a recurring bilateral engagement.
• Structured to strengthen regional cooperation and align with global peacekeeping efforts.

Significance

• Conducts joint rehearsal of sub-conventional operations under the UN Chapter VII mandate.
• Emphasises counter-terrorist drills, including cordon and search, heliborne operations, and casualty evacuation.
• Includes Army Martial Arts Routine (AMAR), combat reflex shooting, and Yoga as part of the exercise curriculum.

Facts/General knowledge

• UN Chapter VII authorises military and non-military actions—such as sanctions, blockades, and troop deployment—for international peace enforcement.
• Other India–Malaysia military exercises: Samudra Laksamana (bilateral maritime exercise) and Udara Shakti (bilateral air force exercise).

Project Suncatcher: Space-Based Solar Data Centres

Introduction

• Google has launched a long-term research initiative to develop solar-powered data centres in space.
• The project plans to use satellite constellations equipped with AI chips and laser-based communication to process data directly in orbit.
• It aims to reduce the energy burden associated with Earth-based data centres.

Why in news?

• Google announced Project Suncatcher with experimental launches planned for 2027.
• Two prototype satellites are slated for early 2027 as part of a learning mission in partnership with Planet Labs.

Background

• Concept and deployment:
• Tests solar-powered data centres by placing small computing racks on satellites.
• Partners with Planet Labs, an Earth imaging company, for initial prototypes.
• Core technologies:

AI hardware: Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), custom chips for high-volume, low-precision AI processing.

• Inter-satellite connectivity: Laser-based optical links to form a constellation capable of data centre–level computation.
• Functioning in orbit:

Solar energy generation: Continuous solar radiation powers onboard systems.

• Onboard AI computing: Data is processed directly in space rather than relayed in full to Earth.
• Constellation architecture: Multiple satellites share workloads across distributed nodes.
• High-speed links: Inter-satellite laser communication enables high-speed, low-latency data transfer.
• Edge processing: In-orbit processing of satellite data (e.g., Earth observation) reduces bandwidth needs and response time.
• Space resilience: Radiation-hardened systems withstand radiation, vacuum, and temperature extremes.
• Selective downlink: Only processed outputs are transmitted to ground stations, minimising data load and latency challenges.

Significance

• Eases pressure on terrestrial data centres by lowering demand for electricity and water amid the AI boom.
• Addresses surging power needs, with Goldman Sachs estimating a 165% rise in data centre electricity demand by 2030.
• Enables clean, solar-powered computing, supporting climate mitigation efforts.
• Offers potential solutions to data sovereignty constraints, as outer space is not subject to national jurisdiction under the Outer Space Treaty, 1967.
• Enhances resilience of digital infrastructure against natural disasters, cable cuts, and power outages.
• Signals a shift towards next-generation space-based digital infrastructure with implications for global AI, cloud computing, and governance.

Facts/General knowledge

• Data centres: Specialised facilities that store, process, and manage large volumes of digital data using servers, storage, networking, and supporting systems for power, cooling, and security.

• Provide reliable and scalable infrastructure for cloud computing, AI, and other digital services.
• Global advancements towards data centres in space:
• OpenAI (Sam Altman): Proposed a Dyson sphere–like network of AI data centres powered by solar energy.
• Nvidia: Launched the Starcloud satellite carrying the H100 GPU, optimised for AI workloads.
• Lonestar Data Holdings: Sent a 1 kg mini data centre with 8 TB SSD storage to the Moon.