During the maneuvers, the sailors will fire, conduct a rescue operation and search for a submarine.
An operation to assist an emergency ship, search and block a submarine, and artillery firing — such elements were included in the program of the Indra Navy - 2025 Russian-Indian naval exercises that started on Monday in the Bay of Bengal. The maneuvers are designed to develop naval cooperation between the two countries to protect shipping and economic activity at sea. India remains a friendly country to Russia, whose Navy largely consists of Russian-built ships, experts say.
What will be worked out at the Indra Navy - 2025 exercises
On Monday, the active phase of the Indra Navy - 2025 Russian-Indian naval exercises started in the Bay of Bengal. On the Russian side, a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet is taking part in them, consisting of the corvettes Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov, Sharp and the tanker Pechenga. The Indian Navy is represented by the destroyer Rana and the corvette Kutar.
The Russian Defense Ministry called the main task of the exercises the development of naval cooperation between the two countries to protect navigation and economic activity at sea.
During the maneuvers, Russian and Indian military sailors will practice joint actions at sea, perform artillery firing on sea and air targets, conduct communications training, conduct a search and rescue operation to assist an emergency ship, and work out joint actions to find and block a simulated enemy submarine.
Photo: TASS/Irina Polina
Image source: iz.ru
Deck-based helicopters and naval aircraft of the Indian Navy will be involved in some episodes.
The Russian Ka-27 helicopter will land on the Indian destroyer Rana and take off from it.
A detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet entered the port of Chennai on March 26 to participate in joint naval exercises. A welcoming ceremony was held at the pier, which was attended by representatives of the Russian Embassy in India and representatives of the naval forces of the host country.
Photo: TASS/Irina Polina
Image source: iz.ru
India is a friendly country to Russia, both states are members of the BRICS, said military expert, Captain 1st Rank Vasily Dandykin.
"India bought most of its weapons from us, including submarines and surface ships," he explained to Izvestia. — And now we are building frigates for them. We still have normal connections. Therefore, exercises in the waters of the Indian Ocean are held regularly. Although it is believed that Russian corvettes are short—range ships, nevertheless their capabilities allow them to go so far.
Cooperation with the countries of the region is of great importance, the expert noted.
— Although India is trying to pursue a multi—vector policy — it buys weapons from Western countries and conducts exercises with other countries - nevertheless, we still have very good relations. Both at the personnel level — they were trained in our educational institutions — and at the leadership level. We used to conduct joint exercises on earth. And now they will be at sea," concluded Vasily Dandykin.
—During the exercises, the combat training of sailors increases," military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia. — It will be interesting for us to see something from them, and for them from us. Ships are designed for the sea, and sailors should not only be able to sail on them, but also to fight. For the Russian crews, this is also an additional study of the Indian Ocean and the peculiarities of navigation in the region.
Photo: TASS/Irina Polina
Image Source: iz.ru
He noted that the Russian detachment of ships is actively participating in international exercises during the cruise in the South Seas — it has already conducted maneuvers with the Indonesians, Iranians and Pakistanis. It is possible that this practice will be continued in the future.
— It is important that during the exercises the rescue operation, search and blocking of the submarine will be practiced. These skills may come in handy someday," the expert said.
How is the campaign of the detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet going?
Since the beginning of this year, a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet has been conducting a series of international exercises in the southern seas. In February, he took part in maneuvers in Indonesia, where representatives of other countries were also involved, including the United States, China, Japan, France, India, Great Britain and others. The main events took place in the waters of the Badung Strait and on the island of Bali. The main goal was to increase operational compatibility between the naval forces of different countries in the field of disaster relief and other humanitarian operations.
Photo: TASS/Irina Polina
Image source: iz.ru
In early March, in the northern Indian Ocean, a Russian detachment of ships took part in the Maritime Security Belt 2025 exercise, which also involved ships from Iran and China. The crews worked out the tasks of freeing captured vessels, search and rescue at sea, and also conducted artillery firing at sea and air targets. Two warships and one integrated supply vessel were involved in the exercise from the PRC. Iran has deployed 16 warships and boats, two support vessels and two helicopters for maneuvers.
In mid-March, joint maneuvers of the Pacific Fleet detachment with the Pakistani Navy took place. They were conducted in the format of a PASSEX (passing exercise, passing training). This is a standard for naval maneuvers between two fleets, during which communication and interaction between them are checked in a military situation or when providing humanitarian assistance.
Roman Kretsul
