Russian Navy Ships Arrives in India for Maritime Exercise

New Delhi: Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) ships Varyag, Admiral Panteleyev and Boris Butoma on Sunday arrived at Visakhapatnam to participate in INDRA NAVY, the bilateral maritime exercise with Indian Navy. The 10th edition of the exercise is to be conducted from December 9-16. The primary aim of the exercise, which was initiated in 2003, is to increase inter-operability amongst the two navies, develop common understanding and procedures for maritime security operations, as per a release.

This edition of the exercise would be held in two phases. The Harbour Phase would be held at Visakhapatnam from December 9-12, which “would encompass planning conferences, professional interactions, cultural visits, sports fixtures and formal calls between flag officers/senior officers of participating navies”. The Sea Phase from December 13-16 would be conducted in the Bay of Bengal.

“The thrust of exercises at sea would be on anti-submarine warfare (ASW), air defence drills, surface firings, visit board search and seizure (VBSS) operations and tactical procedures,” adds the release. (IANS)

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