Page 24 - ADT APRIL 2022 Online Magazine

Mozambique, Oman, Qatar, Singapore, Sri
Lanka, Thailand, UAE and UK also participated
in the exercise.

France [ TRAINING ]
India and France already share strong defence
ideas and the latest in the series of exercises
between the armed forces of both nations
was the ‘Varuna’ bilateral naval exercise. The
Varuna series of exercises between navies
of both nations commenced in 1993 and the
recent event, marked the 20th edition of the
exercises which have become a vital part of the
India – France strategic bilateral relationship.
Various units including ships, submarines,
maritime patrol aircraft, fighter aircraft and heli-
copters of the two navies participated in the
Training to Varuna 2022 featured an expanded scope
exercises. The exercises have grown in scope
and complexity over the years and continue to
provide both navies with opportunities to learn
from each other’s best practices.

Perform that covered a broad spectrum of maritime
operations. The sea phase placing a primary
focus on advanced anti-submarine warfare
(ASW) tactics, gunnery shoots, seamanship
evolutions, tactical manoeuvres and extensive
air operations. Indian and French naval units
also undertook cross deck landings with their
THE INDIAN ARMED FORCES ARE PARTNERING integral helicopters, showcasing a high level of
WITH FRIENDLY FORCES FOR JOINT TRAINING interoperability between them. Gun firing and
underway replenishment procedures were also
exercised between ships.
Atul Chandra The final phase of the exercise featured a
tapered focus on advanced ASW exercises. INS
Chennai with Sea King Mk 42B, Naval Aviation
India’s armed forces are training with an increasingly diverse range P-8Is exercised along with the French Navy
of partners, as heightened tensions in the region continue to drive frigate FS Courbet, support vessel FS Loire.
the need for military preparedness. There is strong interest for Other units exercised on full spectrum of ASW
military training with India’s combat hardened troops, in addition operations and the latter part of the exercise
to access to large training areas, which are widely available across also included exchange of sea-riders at sea.
the country for desert, jungle, high-altitude and maritime training.
Bilateral and multilateral exercises with friendly forces are only
primed to increase with growth of training engagements, across Australia
a wide spectrum of military capabilities. India and Australia, are increasingly training
India’s appetite for greater multilateral exercises was on show, together in the maritime space. The mari-
with the Indian Navy concluding the maiden edition of the Indian time waters between Indonesia and Northern
Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Maritime Exercise 2022 (IMEX-22)
in March. The aim of the exercise was to enhance interoperability
in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations
among member navies.
15 out of the 25 member nations of IONS took part in the
exercises. According to India’s MoD, “the exercise is seen as a
significant stepping stone for regional navies to collaborate and
respond collectively to natural disasters in the region and paves
way for further strengthening regional cooperation.”
The navies of Bangladesh, France, India and Iran took part in
IMEX-22, while 22 observers from 15 IONS member navies, namely
Australia, Bangladesh, France, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Mauritius,

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