Indian Navy – European Union Naval Force Joint Exercise

Indian Navy and European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) are conducting their first ever exercise in Gulf of Aden. This two-day exercise will end on June 19, 2021.

Key Points

• Indian Naval Ship Trikand participated in the exercise, which is currently deployed for anti-piracy operations.
• Total of five warships from four navies participated in the exercise held on 18^th & 19^th
• Other warships that participated in exercise include Italian Navy Ship ITS Carabinere, two French Navy Ship FS Tonnerre & FS Surcouf and Spanish Navy Ship ESPS Navarra.
• A virtual “Information Sharing Exercise” is also being conducted between Indian Navy Information Fusion Centre in Indian Ocean Region and Maritime Security Centre in Horn of Africa

About the exercise

The two-day exercise witnessed high tempo-naval operations at sea such as advanced air defence & anti-submarine exercises, cross deck helicopter operations, boarding operations, tactical manoeuvres, underway replenishment, search & rescue etc. Ships of four navies endeavour to enhance their war-fighting skills and their ability to promote peace, security and stability in maritime domain. EUNAVFOR and Indian Navy also saw eye-to-eye on multiple issues such as counter piracy operations and protection of vessels which were deployed under charter of World Food Programme (UN WFP).

Indian Navy and EUNAVFOR

Both the navies conduct regular interaction through SHADE (Shared Awareness and Deconfliction) meetings which is held annually at Bahrain. It highlights their shared values of ensuring freedom of seas.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2021