Indian Navy's foreign engagement in June 2022
BLOGS
June 2022 witnessed one of the most extensive foreign engagements in Indian navy history, we will be summing it up in this update. At least eleven Indian Naval ships have been deployed internationally at the time of writing (30th June 2022)–
Ø INS Kolkata (D63)
Ø INS Kochi (D64)
Ø INS Chennai (D65)
Ø INS Satpura (F48)
Ø INS Sahyadri (F49)
Ø INS Talwar (F40)
Ø INS Tarkash (F50)
Ø INS Kamorta (P28)
Ø INS Kadmatt (P29)
Ø INS Aditya (A59)
Ø INS Tarangini (A75)
Western Command
INS Kolkata (D63) arrived at Maldives last month (31st May 2022). A delegation of 19 media personnel from Maldives visited the destroyer on the same day. The delegation was briefed on Indian Navy’s role in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and Western Fleet operations, they also interacted with the Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Sameer Saxena onboard. The vessel remained in Maldives for the early days of June. The ship later reached Seychelles on 26th Jun 2022 where the commanding officer (CO) of INS Kolkata and the minister of foreign affairs and tourism (Seychelles) had an insightful discussion on India-Seychelles defence ties. The CO also met and discussed matters with several other defence officials and the Vice President of Seychelles. The ship later commemorated the Independence Day of Seychelles on 29th of June 2022
INS Chennai (D65) arrived at the Jeddah Islamic port (Saudi Arabia) for an OTR from 26th – 28th June 2022, it was received by Saudi Naval and Indian embassy officials.
INS Kochi (D64) is Mission Deployed in the Red Sea where it made a port call at Safaga (Egypt), Egyptian Navy personnel were shown around INS Kochi & the crew of INS Kochi visited the frigate ENS Abu Qir (F 941), & the Offshore Patrol Boats ENS Abu Ubaidh Ibn El Jarrah (705) & ENS Al Zubair Bn Al Awam (709).
INS Talwar (F40) visited Djibouti last month (29th May 2022) and was deployed in the Gulf region as part of Indian Navy’s operation Sankalp. The ship visited Manama (Bahrain) on 27th June 2022 as part of Indian Navy’s commitment to maritime security in the region and reassuring Indian Merchant Men. The ships’ commanding officer met Bahrain naval officials, the ships’ crew also interacted and trained with the crew of US Navy’s 5th fleet as part of their Bahrain visit.
INS Tarkash (F50) is mission-deployed for 5 months from 27 June. Warship will make 14 port calls in 11 nations in Europe, South America & Africa during this.
INS Aditya (A59) arrived at Jeddah Islamic Port on the Red Sea, on 28 June 2022 as part of the Western Fleet's deployment to the region. The ship was received by Captain Faisal Saud, representative of Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF). It sailed out of Jeddah Islamic port on 30th June 2022 after a two day operational turn around at the port.
Eastern Command
INS Satpura (F48) on a deployment to the SCS & West Pacific, visited Manila from 3rd - 6th June 2022. The visit was aimed at strengthening interoperability between the Indian Navy and the Philippines Navy. The ship later arrived at Guam on 13th June 2022 where it participated in a multilateral exercise with Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines on its’ way to Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. INS Satpura reached Hawaii on 27th June to take part in “RIMPAC” which is one of the largest naval exercises hosted by the US. The ship travelled more than 7000 nautical miles from the port of Visakhapatnam to its’ destination in Hawaii (Pearl Harbour).
INS Sahyadri (F49) Kadmatt (P29) were deployed to the South China Sea/South East Asia following India’s “Act East” policy. INS Sahyadri and INS Kadmatt arrived at Nha Rong Port in Ho Chi Minh City on 24th June 2022 on a goodwill visit, showcasing the growing Defence Partnership between India and Vietnam as they celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh had visited Vietnam earlier this month (June 2022) where he handed over 12 high speed boats to Vietnam which were built under the $100M line of credit from India. 5 of the high speed boats were made in India while 7 were made in Vietnam. India and Vietnam also signed a vision statement on defence ties till 2030 and inked mutual logistics agreement.
INS Kamorta (P28) was also deployed to South East Asia (SE Asia) in the later half of June where it completed a success port call at Changi, Singapore from 25th June to 27th June 2022. INS Kamorta will be heading to the South China Sea thereafter to engage with other friendly foreign navies
Southern Naval command
INS Tarangini (A75) is a sail training ship of Indian navy, it is on a 7 month international deployment under Lokayan 2022 tour and has visited several countries prior to June, it was in Malta in the late May and early days of June 2022, the ship later arrived in Algeria on 7th June 2022 for a 3 day goodwill visit. The ship later sailed for Lisbon (Portugal) where it arrived on 17th June 2022, the crew celebrated International Yoga Day (21st June 2022) in Portugal. INS Tarangini later arrived at French city of Cherbourg on 29th June 2022 and will depart on 2nd July 2022.
Other significant development in international ties
A P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) arrived in Goa on 6th June 2022 to undertake coordinated operations (ASW and surface surveillance ops) with Indian Navy P-8I MPA squadron (INAS 316) at INS Hansa from 7th June 2022 to 9th June 2022. This comes as a reciprocal of Indian P-8I deployment to Australia earlier this year. The joint operations are meant to increase interoperability and strengthen ties. Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Vice Chief of Australian Defence Force (ADF) also visited Goa Shipyard Limited and INS Hansa in later half of June.
8th Indian Navy – Royal Malaysian Navy Staff Talks (RMN)- Delegations led by Rear Admiral Khir Junaidi bin Idris, ACoS (Ops & Strategy) of RMN & Rear Admiral J Singh, ACNS (FCI) of Indian Navy discussed various issues including increasing cooperation & enhancing interoperability between the two navies
TLI (AN) KRI Cut Nyak Dien arrived at Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) for 38th Ind-Indo CORPAT on 13th June 2022. Sea phase of 38th IND-INDO CORPAT at Andaman Nicobar Command was conducted from 20th to 22nd June 2022. INS Karmuk, Maritime Patrol Aircraft (India) & KRI Cut Nyak Dien (Indonesia) participated in various joint exercises. CORPAT enhances Maritime Security, Interoperability, EEZ Survelliance & Joint Co-ordination