- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
NAVIES from India and Russia on Wednesday (28) and Thursday (29) carried out a mega naval war game in the Baltic Sea that featured a number of complex drills and other activities across the spectrum of maritime operations.
The two-day affair – the 12th edition of the Indra exercise — was described by the Indian Navy as yet another “milestone” in strengthening bilateral naval cooperation, saying that it reinforced the long-standing bond of friendship between the two nations.
ALSO READ: Russia rules out military alliance with India on Afghanistan
“Initiated in 2003, exercise Indra epitomises the depth of the strategic relations between the two navies,” Indian Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said. He added that the exercise was undertaken as part of the visit of Indian stealth frigate INS Tabar to St Petersburg to participate in the 325th Navy Day celebrations of the Russian Navy.
The Russian Navy at the exercise was represented by corvettes RFS Zelyony Dol and RFS Odintsovo of the Baltic Fleet.
“The exercise featured various facets of fleet operations such as anti-air firings, underway replenishment drills, helicopter ops, boarding drills and seamanship evolutions,” Commander Madhwal said.
“The primary aim of this year’s edition was to further consolidate inter-operability built up by the two navies over the years and also to enhance understanding and procedures for multi-faceted maritime operations,” he said, adding the exercise has matured over the years with an increase in scope and complexity of operations.
