Two corvettes of the Russian Pacific Fleet (Pacific Fleet) – “Sharp” and “Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov”, as well as the support vessel “Pechenga” entered the port of the Indian city of Chennai. The ships arrived to participate in the Russian-Indian Indra Navy exercises.The Russian detachment of ships is commanded by Captain Alexei Antsiferov, first rank. On the shore, the guests from the Russian Federation were greeted by officers of the Indian Navy.
The base of the upcoming maneuvers was the southern Indian city of Chennai, where the command of the Tamil Nadu Naval Region is located. The exercises will be held in two phases. The first one will take place on the shore. Meetings are planned to work out the interaction of the ships of the two countries, as well as official visits, meetings, sports competitions, excursions and cultural events. During the second phase, which will begin next week, the ships will set sail and conduct three-day maneuvers in the Bay of Bengal.
On the Indian side, the Rana destroyer, a 61-ME project ship built in 1970-1980 in the USSR by order of the Indian government and handed over to India in 1982, as well as the Kuthar corvette, designed by Indian naval engineers and built in Mumbai, are taking part in the exercises.
Indra exercises have been conducted regularly between India and Russia for more than 20 years. They are aimed at improving interoperability and strengthening military cooperation. In recent years, the land and naval forces have been participating in the maneuvers alternately.