The Western fleet of Indian Navy successfully completed one of the largest and longest deployment exercises in the western hemisphere, in which it conducted joint exercises with 16 navies.
The Western fleet of Indian Navy successfully completed one of the largest and longest deployment exercises in the western hemisphere, in which it conducted joint exercises with 16 navies. The exercise—codenamed Sambandh 2009—stretched over three months and passed through 18 countries, covering a distance of 68,000 nautical miles.
Four warships—INS Delhi, INS Brahmaputra, INS Beas and INS Aditya—carrying 1,376 Indian Navy personnel traversed through the Arabian Sea, Meditteranean Sea, Red Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to conduct the joint exercises.
The joint exercise with the Royal Navy of United Kingdom was named Konkan 2009, and the one with the French Navy was christened Varuna 2009. These helped navy personnel learn about anti-submarine operations. Both navies provided their nuclear submarines for the exercise, which was held in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. They were earlier held only in the Indian Ocean.
Talking about the exercise, Rear Admiral SPS Cheema, the Flag Officer commanding the western fleet, said, “The exercise was completed successfully, and it helped prove our prowess and efficiency to navies of foreign countries. It also helped us learn about maintenance, use of technology and the working style of other navies, and similarly they learned from and admired ours.”
He added, “The joint exercises conducted with foreign navies will be useful in future operations and co-operation at the sea. Also, we are maintaining a database of ships passing from the Gulf of Eden.” The Gulf of Eden is a popular sea route among ships from Asia, Africa and European countries, and the Indian Navy has been escorting merchant ships in these waters as pirates operating there have targeted merchant ships at earlier instances.
Keeping a check on terrorist activities, drug trafficking, piracy and human trafficking was also a part of the operation. In addition to Varuna and Konkan operations, the ships undertook passage exercises with navies of countries like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Algeria, Eritrea, Israel, Libya, France and Australia.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}