Indian Navy and Royal Australian Navy hold bilateral exercise AUSINDEX; know more

A task group comprising of INS Shivalik and INS Kadmatt under Flag Officer Commanding (Eastern Fleet), Rear Admiral Tarun Sobti will be participating in the fourth edition of AUSINDEX. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Anzac Class Frigate and the His Majesty's Australian Ship (HMAS) Warramunga is also a part of the exercise which is scheduled to be held between September 06 to 10.

The RAN Frigate and HMAS Warramunga had previously met with the Indian Navy during Exercise Malabar which is a trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India.

Details about AUSINDEX 2021

In the fourth edition of AUSINDEX, the surface units of both the countries will be exercising with the HMAS Rankin, a Collins Class Australian Submarine, Royal Australian Air Force P-8A and F-18A aircraft, along with integral helicopters of both the Navies. The exercise will provide an opportunity for both Navies to further bolster inter-operability, gain from best practices and develop a common understanding of procedures for Maritime Security Operations. 

This edition of AUSINDEX includes complex surface, sub-surface and air operations between ships, submarines, helicopters and Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the participating RAN and Indian Navy. The Indian Naval Ships partaking in this edition of AUSINDEX are INS Shivalik which is the latest indigenously designed and built Guided Missile Stealth Frigate (GSF). The INS Kadmatt is an Anti-Submarine Corvette. Both the ships form a part of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet which is based at Visakhapatnam under the Eastern Naval Command.

IN-RAN's 2020 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

AUSINDEX exercise which began in 2015 is a bilateral IN-RAN maritime exercise. The exercise is a representation of a joint guidance signed by the Chief of the Naval Staff, IN and the Chief of Navy, RAN on Aug 18. The signed joint guidance is an important document that is aligned to the '2020 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' between the two nations and aims to further consolidate shared commitment to regional and global security challenges promoting peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The conduct of this exercise despite COVID restrictions is also a testimony of existing synergy between the participating navys'. The 3rd edition of the exercise was held in 2019 in the Bay of Bengal which included anti-submarine drills for the first time.

Image: Republic World