Indian Navy sails closer to indigenisation target
Admiral Karambir Singh PVSM, AVSM, ADC Chief of Indian Navy
The year 2020 was marked by a series of glorious moments for the Indian Navy, most of which took the nation nearer to the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat, or self-reliance, in defence. Notable achievements during the year were the commissioning of several ships and the firstever arrested landing of the Naval version of the Light Combat Aircraft on an aircraft carrier, among others. Other major engagements that kept the Indian Navy busy included a number of joint exercises and Passex with friendly Navies. Moreover, the Indian Navy tackled the threat posed by the pandemic effectively.
T
he Indian Navy (IN) guards the nation’s maritime borders and also protects its various ocean-related interests. As part of its call of duty, IN’s operational deployments during 2020 included Operation Sankalp,
20 sailors & warriors
Operation Samudra Setu, Mission Sagar and Sagar-II. Amidst the increasing US – Iran tensions in the Gulf region since June 2019, IN has been undertaking a maritime security operation codenamed Op Sankalp in the area to ensure safe passage
of Indian Flag Merchant Vessels (IFMVs) transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. Since then, IN has deployed 16 warships and escorted around 161 lakh tonnes of cargo onboard 156 IFMVs. Indian Navy ships Jalashwa, Shardul, Airavat and Magar were deployed from May to July for Operation Samudra Setu to undertake repatriation of stranded Indian nationals in the wake of COVID-19 from Iran, Maldives and Sri Lanka. The Navy ships deployed for Op Samudra Setu evacuated 3,992 Indian nationals. INS Kesari was deployed to the Southern IOR (Indian Ocean Region) island nations as part of Mission Sagar for rendering COVID-19-related assistance from May-June. During deployment, the ship provided medicine stores and medical kits to Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles. As part of the follow-up Mission Sagar II, INS Airavat was deployed to deliver humanitarian aid stores to Djibouti, Massawa (Eritrea), Port Sudan and Mombasa, Kenya (for South Sudan) from October-November. Exercises with foreign Navies The Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) conducted a bilateral exercise Naseem-Al-Bahr at and/ off Goa. RNO ships Al Rasikh and Al Khassab along with IN ships Beas and Subhadra participated in the exercise. Moreover, IN and Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) carried out a bilateral exercise named
‘Indra Navy’ in the Bay of Bengal during September. RuFN ships Admiral Tributs, Admiral Vinogrodov, Boris Butoma and IN ships Ranvijay, Kiltan and Shakti participated in the exercise. IN and JMSDF (Japan Maritime Self Defence Force) engaged in a bilateral exercise titled JIMEX 2020 in the Arabian Sea during September. JMSDF ships Kaga and Ikazuchi; IN ships Chennai, Tarkash and Deepak, IN aircraft P8I, MIG 29K and integral helicopters of both navies participated. Bongo Sagar 2020, the bilateral exercise involving IN and Bangladesh Navy (BN), was held in North Bay of Bengal in October. IN and Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) joined for the bilateral exercise Slinex 2020 in the Bay of Bengal. Maiden landing of Advanced Landing Helicopter (ALH) was undertaken onboard SLN Ship Gajabahu during the exercise, to showcase IN’s indigenous capability. Malabar 2020, the multilateral exercise between IN, US Navy (USN), JMSDF and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships, was conducted in the IOR in November. Similarly, the multilateral exercise between IN, Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and Royal Thailand Navy (RTN) took place in the Eastern IOR during November. IN and RSN also carried out the bilateral exercise Simbex 2020 in Eastern IOR. Passex The Indian Navy undertakes Passage Exercise (Passex) with friendly foreign Navies on suitable occasions to enhance
