INDRA NAVY is a joint, biennial

military exercise A military exercise, training exercise, maneuver (manoeuvre), or war game is the employment of military resources in Military education and training, training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of ...

conducted by

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

starting in 2003. The exercise is tasked with boosting cooperation and interoperability between the Russian and Indian navies. The word INDRA is a portmanteau of the participants' respective countries. The exercise involves live firing drills, as well as air defence and anti submarine operations. Additionally, counterpiracy, terrorism and drug smuggling operations are carried out.

Background

The

end of the Cold War End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

which brought greatly reduced defense budgets saw a collapse in ship building and naval activity in Russia throughout the 1990s. During this time, the

Russian navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

had no presence in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. This changed in 2001, when a contingent of naval ships, including

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

vessels and a tanker docked at

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. In April 2003, nine warships of the Russian navy departed from their bases at

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

and

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

for the Indian Ocean. These units engaged in a number of exercises with the

Indian navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov proposed joint naval exercises to be held later that year. The 8th edition was hosted by the

Eastern Naval Command The Eastern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The command is responsible for the all naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocea ...

of the Indian Navy in 2015 and included the Harbour Phase in

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

from 7 to 9 December and the Sea Phase from 10 to 12 December in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

. The naval ships deployed in tye Indra Navy-15 included

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

and fleet support ship from the

Eastern Fleet Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

of the Indian Navy and missile cruiser '' Varyag'', destroyer ''

Bystry Bystry (; masculine), Bystraya (; feminine), or Bystroye (; neuter) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia: * Bystry, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, an urban locality (urban-type settlement) in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug; currently in th ...

'', rescue ocean going tug ''Alatau'' and fleet tanker '' Boris Butoma'' of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy. The 12th edition took place in the

Volgograd, Russia Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

from 1st to 13th August 2021. An

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

contingent from

Mechanised Infantry Regiment The Mechanised Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, comprising 27 battalions (including 3 tracked and 2 wheeled reconnaissance and support battalions) dispersed under various armoured formations throughout India. Togethe ...

also took part in the regiment. The contingent from both the nations consisted of 250 personnel each. The 13th edition was hosted in

in November 2023. Russia had sent two destroyers from its Pacific Fleet including Admiral ''Tributs'' and Admiral ''Panteleyev''. The 14th edition of the exercise was hosted off the coast of

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, India from 28 March to 2 April 2025 and included the Harbour phase (28 to 30 March) in Chennai and the Sea Phase (31 March to 2 April) in Bay of Bengal. The

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

sent ships from its Pacific Fleet including ''Pechanga'' (), ''Rezkiy'' (), ''

Aldar Tsydenzhapov Aldar Batorovich Tsydenzhapov (; 4 August 1991 – 28 September 2010) was a seaman of the Russian Navy serving on the destroyer ''Bystry'' of the Pacific Fleet, who was the only fatal victim of a fire that broke out on the destroyer on 24 Septe ...

'' (). Meanwhile, the Indian Navy deployed , and one

Boeing P-8I Neptune The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is an American maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. It was developed for the United States Navy as a derivative of the civilian Boeing 737 Next Generati ...

Image gallery

File:Exercise INDRA 2014 warships.jpg, Naval maneuvers during Exercise INDRA 14 File:Ka-28 Indian Navy.jpg, An Indian Navy Ka-28 Helix helicopter during INDRA 07 File:Dubhna.jpg, Naval ship of the IN during INDRA 07 File:Joint Indian & Russian VBSS Team INDRA 14.jpg, Joint

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

boarding team during Exercise INDRA 2014

References

External links

Official web siteBharat Rakshak - Informative web siteDefence - Informative web site Domain B online business magazine
Military exercises involving Russia Indian naval exercises India–Russia relations {{India-mil-stub

Background

Image gallery

See also

References

External links