Russian Federation Navy arrives to take part in Indra Navy

Visakhapatnam: Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) Ships Varyag, Admiral Panteleyev and Boris Butoma arrived Visakhapatnam to participate in Indra Navy, the bilateral maritime exercise between Indian Navy and Russian Federation Navy exercise on Sunday.

The 10th edition of exercise Indra Navy will be conducted at/off Visakhapatnam from December 9 to 16. The primary aim of the exercise is to increase inter-operational amongst the two navies, develop common understanding and procedures for maritime security operations. Initiated in 2003, Indra Navy exercise has matured over the years with increase in scope, complexity and level of participation.

The 10th edition of the exercise will be held in two phases. The harbour phase will be held at Visakhapatnam from December 9 to 12 and will encompass planning conferences, professional interactions, cultural visits, sports fixtures and formal calls between flag officers and senior officers of participating navies. 

The sea phase from December 13 to 16 will be conducted in Bay of Bengal. The thrust of exercises at sea will be on Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Air Defence drills, Surface Firings, Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS) operations and tactical procedures.

During exercise, the Indian Navy will be represented by INS Ranvir, a guided missile destroyer, INS Satpura, an indigenous frigate, INS Kadmatt, an indigenous anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette, IN Ships Kuthar and Khanjar both indigenous missile corvettes and INS Jyoti, a fleet tanker.

In addition, one Sindhughosh class submarine, Dornier maritime patrol aircraft, Hawk fighter aircraft and other integral rotary wing helicopters will be taking part in the exercise. 

The Indian Navy ships participating in the exercise would be under the Command of Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Fleet. The Ships of the Russian Federation Navy will be under the Command of Rear Admiral Mikhailov Edward Evgenievich, Chief of Headquarters, Submarine Forces, Pacific Fleet and ships from the Pacific Fleet, based at Vladivostok.  

Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of Naval Staff, Indian Navy visited Russia in November to consolidate bilateral defence relations and to explore new avenues for defence cooperation. The Indian Navy interacts with Russian Federation Navy on many fronts, which include operational interactions, training, hydrographic cooperation and exchange of subject matter experts in various fields through medium of Navy-to-Navy staff talks.

The Indra Navy-18 will help to further strengthen mutual confidence and inter-operations and enable sharing of best practices between both the navies. The exercise will be yet another milestone in strengthening maritime security cooperation between the two navies and will serve to reinforce the long-standing bond of friendship between the countries.