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‘Dweep Shakti': Three services conduct amphibious assaults, maritime dominance ops

March 31, 2026 5 min read Internal Security GS Paper 3 (Security; Challenges to Internal Security; Role of External State and Non-State Actors)
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What Happened

  • Exercise Dweep Shakti 2026, a large-scale joint military exercise, was conducted from March 29, 2026 at Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly Port Blair), Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • The Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, and Indian Coast Guard executed coordinated amphibious assaults, maritime dominance operations, and complex beach landing drills employing next-generation equipment and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones)
  • The exercise was organised under the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) — India's only tri-service operational command — which coordinated assets deployed across the island chain along with civil administration of the Union Territory
  • Key objectives included refining multi-domain joint warfighting capabilities, testing standard operating procedures (SOPs), and boosting interoperability and operational synergy across all three services
  • The exercise demonstrated operational preparedness for safeguarding India's maritime interests and the security of its island territories in the Indo-Pacific theatre

Static Topic Bridges

Andaman and Nicobar Command — India's Only Tri-Service Operational Command

The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), established in 2001 and headquartered at Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), is India's only integrated tri-service operational command, placing Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard assets under a single Commander-in-Chief. All other Indian commands are service-specific (Army, Navy, or Air Force commands). The ANC was created expressly to safeguard India's strategic interests in Southeast Asia and to enable rapid deployment of military assets near the Strait of Malacca.

  • ANC jurisdiction: 572 islands of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, spanning ~800 km in the Bay of Bengal
  • INS Baaz, India's southernmost naval air station, is located at Campbell Bay, Great Nicobar — approximately 100 km from the Strait of Malacca
  • Car Nicobar hosts an Indian Air Force facility providing air dominance over the Bay of Bengal
  • The Rs 72,000-crore Great Nicobar Island Development Project includes expansion of INS Baaz and construction of a transshipment port
  • Commander-in-Chief ANC is the only officer to simultaneously hold a tri-service command in India's military structure

Connection to this news: Exercise Dweep Shakti 2026 directly exercises the ANC's core mandate — rapid multi-domain response to threats in the island chain — and tests the interoperability that a tri-service command structure is designed to deliver.

Strategic Importance of the Strait of Malacca and Indo-Pacific Choke Points

The Strait of Malacca, separating the Malay Peninsula from Sumatra, is one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints. Approximately 60% of China's trade and nearly 90% of Japan, South Korea, and several ASEAN nations' oil imports transit through it. India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands sit astride this chokepoint, giving India considerable strategic leverage — the ability to monitor, and if necessary, influence access to the strait. This position also makes the islands relevant to the Quad (Australia, India, Japan, USA) security framework and exercises such as Malabar.

  • Malacca Strait: 800 km long, minimum width ~2.8 km at Phillips Channel; handles around 25% of global trade by volume
  • Other key Indo-Pacific chokepoints relevant to India: Strait of Hormuz (Persian Gulf oil), Bab-el-Mandeb (Red Sea), Lombok Strait (alternative to Malacca)
  • India's "String of Pearls" counter-strategy involves strengthening maritime presence at Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, and bilateral agreements with Sri Lanka, Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius
  • QUAD — strategic dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and USA — holds regular exercises in ANC's area of influence, including Exercise Malabar

Connection to this news: Dweep Shakti 2026's focus on amphibious assaults and maritime dominance in the island chain directly strengthens India's deterrence posture at the Malacca chokepoint, signalling readiness to contest or control access in a contingency.

Amphibious Warfare Doctrine and Joint Military Operations

Amphibious operations — coordinated military actions launched from sea onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore — represent one of the most complex forms of joint warfare, requiring seamless coordination between naval assets (for transport and fire support), air assets (for cover and insertion), and ground forces (for the actual assault). India released its Joint Doctrine for Amphibious Operations to guide integrated multi-domain warfighting. Amphibious capability serves a dual purpose: offensive force projection and defensive/HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) response for India's island territories and coastal zones.

  • India's current amphibious lift capacity relies on Landing Ship Tanks (LSTs) and Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessels; the Navy is acquiring Landing Platform Docks (LPDs) to significantly expand this capability
  • LPDs can carry Marines, helicopters, hovercraft, and landing vehicles — enabling sustained operations far from home ports
  • Beach landing drills rehearsed in Dweep Shakti test the full amphibious sequence: ship-to-shore movement, securing a beachhead, and inland advance
  • HADR missions — such as post-cyclone relief in Andaman, or evacuation of Indian nationals from conflict zones — also depend on the same platforms and SOPs

Connection to this news: Exercise Dweep Shakti 2026's "complex beach landing drills" employing next-gen equipment and drones mirror the LPD-era ambitions outlined in India's amphibious doctrine, demonstrating operational readiness for both combat and HADR scenarios across the island chain.

Key Facts & Data

  • Exercise Dweep Shakti 2026 held from March 29, 2026, at Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Participating forces: Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Indian Coast Guard
  • Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) established: 2001 — India's only integrated tri-service command
  • 572 islands in A&N archipelago; INS Baaz (Campbell Bay) is ~100 km from Strait of Malacca
  • Strait of Malacca handles ~60% of China's trade and ~90% of Japan and South Korea's oil imports
  • Great Nicobar Island Development Project: Rs 72,000 crore — includes port, airport, and military base expansion
  • India's Joint Doctrine for Amphibious Operations released by Chief of Defence Staff
  • Exercise Malabar — India, USA, Japan, Australia — regularly conducted in ANC's sphere of influence
  • Sri Vijaya Puram: renamed from Port Blair in 2023 as part of decolonisation of place names