Russian ships arrive for bilateral exercise

Indian Navy officials greet Russian Naval officers on their arrival at the port to participate in the five-day bilateral exercise in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.— PHoto: By Arrangement

Ships of the Russian Federation Navy arrived in the city on Sunday to participate in ‘INDRA NAVY-2015’, the five-day bilateral exercises with Indian Navy ships starting Monday.

The 8th edition of the INDRA NAVY, being conducted in the Bay of Bengal, will be in two phases, the Harbour Phase from Monday to Wednesday at Visakhapatnam and the Sea Phase from Thursday to Saturday off Visakhapatnam.

The Harbour Phase would encompass table-top exercises and planning conferences ashore, prior to progressing to the sea.

The Sea Phase would include various facets of fleet operations.

The primary aim of this exercise is to increase interoperability between the two navies and develop common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations.

The scope of INDRA NAVY includes wide- ranging professional interactions during the Harbour Phase and a diverse canvas of operational activities at sea across a spectrum of maritime operations.

During INDRA NAVY, the Indian Navy will be represented by indigenous stealth frigate INS Sahyadri, guided missile destroyer INS Ranvijay, and fleet support ship INS Shakti. In addition, a submarine INS Sindhuvir, long-range maritime patrol aircraft P8I, short-range maritime patrol aircraft Dornier, Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer and other integral rotary wing helicopters are scheduled to participate in the bilateral exercise.

The Russian Federation Navy (RFN) will be represented by Deputy Commander of the Pacific Fleet Vice Admiral Ryabukhin Andrey and ships from the Pacific Fleet, based at Vladivostok.

RFN ships Varyag (cruiser), Bystry (destroyer), Alatau (rescue ocean going tug) and Boris Butoma (fleet tanker) reached the city on Sunday.