What is the News? The 19th edition of the Indian and French Navy bilateral Exercise VARUNA 2021 was conducted in the Arabian Sea.
About Exercise Varuna:
- Exercise Varuna 2021 is a bilateral naval exercise between India and France.
- Initiated in: The exercise was initiated in 1993. Since 2001, the exercises are called ‘VARUNA’.
- Aim: The aim is to develop interoperability between the two navies. Further, it aims to foster mutual cooperation by learning from each other’s best practices to conduct joint operations.
- Participation: From the Indian Navy’s side the following frigates and submarines participated in the exercise.
- Guided-missile stealth destroyer Kolkata
- Guided-missile frigates Tarkash and Talwar,
- Kalvari class submarine and
- P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft
Other Exercises between India and France:
- Exercise Garuda: It is a bilateral exercise between the Indian and French Air Force. The first edition of the exercise was held in 2003.
- Exercise SHAKTI: It is a biennial military exercise conducted between India and France. It was first conducted in the year 2011.
- Exercise La Pérouse: It is a multilateral maritime exercise led by the French Navy. Indian Navy has participated in this exercise for the first time in 2021.
Source: AIR
