The U.S. Department of War said antisubmarine warfare training, Exercise Sea Dragon 2026, was successfully concluded at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam recently.
The exercise saw two Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft assigned to Patrol and Reconnaissance Squadrons 4 and 45 were joined by a multilateral force of P-8A aircraft from the Indian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force. Officials said the exercise enhances the interoperability of shared maritime domain awareness and improved on participating nations’ ability to conduct multinational antisubmarine warfare operations inside a complex exercise environment.
“What we do in Sea Dragon builds more than skill — it establishes [an antisubmarine warfare] team across nations. The shared experience empowers us to fight together more effectively,” Navy Lt. Paolo Aguilar, assigned to Patrol and Reconnaissance Squadron 4, said.
Exercises like Sea Dragon highlight the strength of U.S. partnerships and alliances, said Navy Lt. Caitlin Tucker, Patrol and Reconnaissance Squadron 45 pilot.
“They show that together we’re stronger, more capable and ready to deter any aggressor in the Indo-Pacific,” Tucker added.
This year, forces operated in the vicinity of Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, to employ recoverable exercise torpedoes and demonstrate the expansion of capabilities trained among the five nations. Participants trained on tracking drills including a mobile antisubmarine warfare training target, as well as a Navy antisubmarine warfare exercise, in which participants hunted for an active Navy submarine in the area.