By Catherine Putz
Chief of India’s Eastern Fleet said the naval exercises epitomize the strategic relationship between the two countries.
On Monday, the naval portion of India and Russia’s Indra exercise began in the city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The exercise will run from December 7 to December 12 and include two phases, a harbor phase and an a sea phase. India and Russia have been engaging in bilateral naval exercises since 2003 and this is the eighth edition of the Indra exercises.
In November, 250 Russian soldiers traveled to Bikaner, Rajasthan, where they joined their Indian counterparts for the land part of the Indra 2015. Those exercises focused on joint peacekeeping and counterterror operations in desert climes.
The naval phase features four Russian Navy ships from its Vladivostok-based Pacific Fleet: a guided missile cruiser, the Slava-class Varyag; a destroyer, the Sovremennyy-class Bystry; a tanker, the Boris Chilikin-class Boris Butoma; and a rescue tug.
The Indian contingent includes a destroyer, the Rajput-class INS Ranvijay; a frigate, the Shivalik-class INS Sahyadri; a tanker, the Deepak-class INS Shakti; and the INS Sindhuvir, which IHS Jane’s describes as “a Type 877 variant of the Russian-designed Kilo-class submarine.” The Indians are also providing a “Boeing P-8I Neptune long-range maritime patrol aircraft, BAE Systems Hawk 132 advanced jet trainers, and assorted rotary-wing platforms.”
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