- The Iranian warship IRIS Dena was sunk by a US submarine near Sri Lanka
- IRIS Dena had participated in India's MILAN naval exercises in 2024 and 2026
- MILAN 2026 focused on complex maritime operations and involved global navies
The Iranian Navy warship IRIS Dena that was sunk by an American submarine near Sri Lanka today while returning from a naval exercise in India was not a first-time visitor to this part of the world.
The frigate IRIS Dena also came to India in 2024 to participate in the multilateral naval exercise MILAN. This year too, it sailed to India to take part in MILAN 2026.
After the exercise, the Iranian warship set a course home, but it never reached - the US submarine struck it with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean.
On MILAN 2026, the Indian Navy in a statement on February 16 had said that as one of the largest multilateral naval exercises in the Indo-Pacific, it would bring together navies from across the globe to strengthen interoperability, maritime domain awareness, and collective response capabilities.
The harbour and sea phases of the exercise focussed on complex maritime operations including anti-submarine warfare, air defence, search and rescue, etc.
February was a significant month for the Indian Navy as it hosted three major international maritime events in Visakhapatnam, namely the International Fleet Review (IFR) 2026, Exercise MILAN 2026, and Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Conclave of Chiefs.
It marked India's first conduct of these major maritime events simultaneously, the Indian Navy had said in a statement.
The US Department of War released a black and white video of what looked like a submarine periscope and an explosion in the distance. It is unprecedented for any military to release near realtime visuals of a submarine kill. This shows the manner in which wars are fought and information is shared have seen massive changes.
The Iranian warship likely did not detect the US submarine even in periscope depth, which spoke a lot about the capabilities of the American submarine's tactics.
Nothing is known whether the US submarine had been tailing or observing the Iranian warship as it came to India to participate in MILAN 2026. Defence analysts have theorised that the US submarine may have been tracking the Iranian warship throughout its journey from Iran to India to participate in the exercise. It is common for navies to passively track others for intelligence gathering.
