The Indian Navy is scheduled to relinquish Command of Combined Task Force 154 (CTF 154) during a ceremony at Manama, Bahrain, on 14 Oct 2026. The ceremony will mark the completion of the Indian Navy’s maiden command of a Task Force of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).

CTF 154 is CMF’s dedicated multinational maritime Training Task Force and facilitates professional training and capacity building aimed at strengthening interoperability and operational readiness across the 47 nation CMF partnership. India joined CMF as an Associate Partner in 2022 and became a full member in 2023. The Indian Navy assumed Command of CTF 154 on 11 Feb 2026, marking its first command of a CMF Task Force (https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2226776 ).

During the Indian Navy led tenure, CTF 154 delivered a sustained programme of multinational training under CMF’s Maritime Domain Enhancement Training framework. The tenure included 20 Staff Enhancement Training engagements, Operation Compass Rose 26-1, Operation Southern Readiness 26-2 and the inaugural Subject Matter Expert Exchange on Piracy and Armed Robbery (SPAR 2026), collectively generating over 7,800 training hours, with personnel from 39 countries participating across CTF 154 activities.

(Press Release on the completion of Operation Southern Readiness 26-2: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2288511 ).

The training programme combined virtual, hybrid and in person engagements across a range of maritime security subjects and drew upon expertise from the Indian Navy, CMF Task Forces, Partner Nations, regional maritime agencies and specialist international organisations. The tenure also widened CTF 154’s professional engagement with operational Task Forces, regional partners and specialist institutions in support of multinational training and future capacity building.

The forthcoming handover will mark a further milestone in India’s growing engagement with CMF and reflects its contribution to collaborative maritime security, multinational training and capacity building across the Indian Ocean Region and beyond.

The tenure has further reinforced the Indian Navy’s role as a Preferred Security and Training Partner in the region.