Hello Warriors. In one of my previous articles, I’ve written about the joint exercises underwent by the Indian Army in 2015 which are also important from the point of view of entrance examinations for defence.
Like the Army, the Indian Navy has also undergone many exercises with friendly foreign nations in 2015 and now is hosting the largest exercise- The International Fleet Review. Here is a look back of those:
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- Indo-French Naval Exercise Varuna – 2015
Fourteenth edition of Indo-French naval exercise (VARUNA) was conducted off Goa from 23 April to 02 May 2015, which had both a harbour and sea phase exercise. The French Navy was represented by Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle, two destroyers Chevalier Paul and Jean de Vienne, replenishment tanker Meuse and a maritime patrol aircraft Atlantique 2. The Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle was carrying its complement of fighter aircraft Rafale M, Strike Aircraft Super Etendard, E2C Hawkeye AWACS and helicopters Dauphin and Alouette 3. From the Indian side Aircraft Carrier INS Viraat, destroyer INS Mumbai, stealth frigate INS Tarkash, guided missile frigate INS Gomati, replenishment tanker INS Deepak, submarine INS Shankul and a few Fast Attack Craft along with P-8 I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Seaking 42B and Chetak helicopters, participated.
- SIMBEX – 2015
The Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, was on an operational deployment to southern Indian Ocean and South China Sea. As a part of this deployment, INS Satpura, indigenously built guided missile stealth frigate and INS Kamorta, the latest and indigenous Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette arrived at Singapore on 18 May 2015. These ships participated in IMDEX-15 and later conducted bilateral naval exercise SIMBEX-15 with the Singapore Navy from 23-26 May 2015.
The Inaugural Bilateral Maritime Exercise between India and Australia AUSINDEX – 15 was conducted off the east coast of India from 11 to 19 September 2015. The exercise was jointly inaugurated by Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead, Head Navy Capability of Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Rear Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet on board INS Shivalik at Visakhapatnam. The exercise started with harbour phase encompassing briefings and practical demonstrations along with professional interactions. It was followed by a sea phase, which included fleet manoeuvres, gun firings as well as coordinated anti-submarine exercises. The exercise further enhanced the ability of both navies to undertake regional, joint and / or combined operations such as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief.
The 19th edition of MALABAR exercise was conducted in the Bay of Bengal from 14 to 19 October 2015. Along with the Indian Navy and the US Naval Forces, the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Forces (JMSDF) also participated in the exercise. The scope of Malabar – 2015 included wide-ranging professional interactions and a diverse range of operational activities during the sea – phase. An indigenous frigate INS Shivalik, INS Ranvijay, INS Betwa and a Fleet Support Ship INS Shakti and one submarine INS Sindhudhvaj represented the Indian side. Beside these, LRM Patrol Aircraft P8I and some integral rotary wing helicopters also participated in the trilateral exercise. The US Navy was represented by the ships from Carrier Task Force (CTF) 70 of the US Navy 7th Fleet, based at Yokosuka, Japan. One Nimitz Class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, Ticonderoga Class cruiser USS Normandy and Freedom Class Littoral Combat ship USS Fort Worth were part of the CTF. Besides these nuclear powered submarine USS City of Corpus, Christi, F18 aircraft and P8A Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft also participated. JMSDF was represented by JS Fyuzuki a missile destroyer with SH 60K integral helicopter. This trilateral exercise significantly enhanced naval cooperation among important navies of the Indo-Pacific region.
- Indra Navy – 2015
The eight edition of Indo-Russian bilateral exercise INDRA NAVY 2015 was conducted in the Bay of Bengal off Visakhapatnam from 07 to 12 December 2015. The scope of the exercise included wide-ranging professional interaction during the harbour phase and a diverse canvas of operational activities at sea across a spectrum of maritime operations. During the exercise, the Indian Navy was represented by INS Sahyadri – an indigenous frigate, INS Ranvijay – a guided missile destroyer and INS Shakti – a fleet support ship in addition a submarine INS Sindhuvir, the P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Dornier Short Range Patrol Aircraft, Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer and other integral rotary wing helicopters. The Russian Federation Navy was represented by four ships drawn from the Pacific Fleet. The exercise helped to further strengthen mutual confidence and interoperability and also enabled sharing of best practices between both the navies.
