Mumbai: Four Indian warships are on a goodwill visit to several maritime nations of Africa and the South Indian Ocean where they will engage in naval exercises.
The exercises are meant to promote greater inter-operability and foster synergy between the Indian Navy and other participating navies.
Wide-ranging professional discussions and a number of sports and social engagements will also be part of the itinerary for Indian naval ships Mysore, Tabar, Ganga and Aditya that will engage with several navies. The warships will be exercising with their counterpart or Coast Guard of Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Seychelles and Mauritius besides making port calls at Reunion and Mozambique, a defence spokesperson said.
Maritime camaraderie
The visit will also include the biennial IBSAMAR, a maritime camaraderie between three continents—India, Brazil and South Africa.
The experiences exchanged during these interactions are expected to go a long way in enhancing cooperation in disaster management and combating maritime threats.
The current interaction will feature advanced aspects of naval warfare, including anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine operations.
The Indian Navy has already been conducting formalised exercises annually with several foreign navies such as the Varuna series with the French Navy, Indra series with Russian Navy and Konkan series with the Royal Navy (UK).
The destroyer INS Mysore and the frigates INS Tabar and INS Ganga are equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, while replenishment ship INS Aditya is capable of sustaining the warships for prolonged duration at sea.
