Triton-II exercise to test security of Kerala coast from today

The second edition of the Triton series of exercises designed to test the security of Kerala coast will begin on Monday.

The Coast Guard; Navy; Army; Air Force; Departments of Fisheries, Police, Ports, Customs, Harbour Engineering, Coastal Shipping and Inland Navigation; Directorate-General of Lighthouses and Light Ships; and members of kadalora jagrata samitis will take part in the massive security workout played out for 72 hours from Monday morning along the State's coast.

The first exercise in the series, Operation Triton, was successfully conducted in October last after which it was deemed imperative to have a coastal security exercise every six months.

Exercise to be different

This time around, the security scenarios simulated during the exercise will be much broader in nature and characteristically different from the ones in the first edition.

“The idea is to assess the efficacy of the existing coastal security apparatus in order to plug probable holes in security. The strategies adopted by both sides [the attacking teams and the forces on vigil] would therefore be novel and dynamic, with focus on the options untested during the previous exercise,” said sources.

Like Triton-I, there will be groups representing the ‘friendly' blue force whose task will be to blunt the infiltration, sabotage and terrorism bids attempted by groups from the ‘hostile' red force.

During the operation, the police will launch massive combing operations and checking of vehicles close to the coast while ships and boats operated by various agencies will remain on guard at sea. Search operations for rogue and suspected vessels will be held close to the coast as is routine. Air surveillance assets of the Navy and the Air Force will also be deployed for early warning.

The Joint Operations Centre at the Southern Naval Command will act as the nerve centre of the massive security workout. The Coast Guard control room, at its district headquarters here, will also function round-the-clock to coordinate with the agencies participating in the exercise. Some glitches identified in communication and reporting procedures among participating agencies during Triton-I were resolved prior to the launch of Triton-II.