INS Tabar to participate in joint exercises with 'friendly navies' and Russian Navy Day

In a bid to enhance military cooperation with friendly nations, the Indian Navy Ship Tabar has been deployed to participate in Russian Navy Celebrations and joint exercises with Africa and Europe. According to a press release, INS Tabar commenced her prolonged deployment on June 13, 2021, and will visit a number of ports in Africa and Europe till the end of September. During the visits, Tabar will conduct professional, social and sporting interactions. 

“The ship will also participate in a number of joint exercises with friendly navies,” read the press note by the Ministry of Defence. 

During the deployment, INS Tabar will transit across the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea and Baltic Sea while making port calls at Djibouti, Egypt, Italy, France, UK, Russia, Netherlands, Morocco, and Arctic Council countries like Sweden and Norway. In addition to Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with host navies of countries being visited, the ship is also scheduled to participate in bilateral exercises like Ex Konkan with Royal Navy, Ex Varuna with French Navy and Ex Indra with Russian Federation Navy.

“The deployment will also see participation by the ship in the Russian Navy Day celebrations from 22 to 27 July,” MoD said. 

‘To build military relations…’

INS Tabar will operate in conjunction with the friendly navies, so as “to build military relations, develop interoperability and project long-range sustenance”. The ministry said that the Indian Navy undertakes regular overseas deployments particularly in the maritime areas of primary interest. It added that these engagements are aimed to further strengthen maritime security in the region and to consolidate combined operations against maritime threats. 

“These interactions will also offer an opportunity to navies to observe and imbibe the ‘Best Practices’ followed in each other’s Navy,” the press note read. 

It is worth mentioning that INS Tabar is a “Talwar-class stealth Frigate” built for the Indian Navy in Russia. The ship is commanded by Captain M Mahesh and has a complement of 300 personnel. Tabar is equipped with a versatile range of weapons and sensors and is among the earliest stealth frigates of the Indian Navy. The ship is part of the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet which is based at Mumbai under Western Naval Command.

(Image: Twitter)