French Navy leads multi-national maritime exercise in Indian Ocean
The French Navy is presently leading a multilateral maritime training activity in the Indian Ocean south of Indonesia.
During Exercise La Perouse 25, 12 ships and more than 30 aircraft will practice maritime interoperability missions, including multi-domain and simulated warfare training, boarding operations, live fire exercises, and air-based search and rescue procedures.
The exercise also involves participants from Canada, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Among the participating ships are the French Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle (pictured) and the Royal Australian Navy air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart.
Commander Alisha Withers, commanding officer of HMAS Hobart, said La Perouse 25 was the largest iteration of the exercise in its history.
The exercise will be led by the Charles De Gaulle carrier strike group and held across the Malacca, Sunda, and Lombok straits.
La Perouse 25 is one activity of the French Navy's ongoing Clemenceau 25 deployment to the Indo-Pacific region. This deployment began at the end of November 2024.
