The 19th Edition of the Indian and French Navy Bilateral Exercise ‘VARUNA-2021’ took place in the Arabian Sea from April 25-27, 2021.
- The Indian side was led by Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, the French side was led by Rear Admiral Marc Aussedat, Commander Task Force 473.
- During the exercise, high tempo-naval operations at sea, advanced air defence and anti-submarine exercises were carried out.
Major Points
i.Participants
- From the Indian Navy – Guided Missile Stealth Destroyer INS Kolkata, Guided Missile frigates – INS Tarkash & INS Talwar, a Kalvari Class Submarine & P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft and other assets took part in exercise.
- From the French Navy – Aircraft Carrier Charles-de-Gaulle with Rafale-M fighter, E2C Hawkeye aircrafts, Horizon-class Air defense destroyer Chevalier Paul, Aquitaine-class multi-missions frigate FNS Provence and Command and supply ship Var participated in the exercise.
ii.Post Completion of ‘VARUNA-21’, Indian Navy’s guided missile frigate INS Tarkash will continue to exercise with French Navy’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) from 28th April to 1st May 2021.
- It is part of ‘Clemenceau 2021’ deployment carried out by French CSG.
- Clemenceau aims to stabilize & strengthen cooperation with the navies of countries in 3 strategic zones – Eastern Mediterranean, the Gulf & Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea).
- For the Indian Ocean it has partnered with the Indian Navy
- INS Tarkash will take part in advanced surface, anti-submarine and air-defence operations with the French CSG.
Varuna Naval Exercise
- Varuna is a bilateral naval exercise initiated in 1983; it was named as ‘VARUNA’ in 2001.
- It is a vital part of the Indo-French Strategic partnership and highlights the coordination and interoperability between the two navies.
- As per Indian Mythology, Varuna is the god of oceans.
Japan to conduct Military drill with US & France
Japan is set to conduct Joint Military Drill with US & French troops in Japan’s Southwest region from May 11-17, 2021.
- It will be the 1st large-scale exercise in Japan involving ground troops from all three countries.
Recent Related News:
i.April 8, 2021, Navies of India & Three other QUAD Countries – US, Japan and Australia participated in the Multilateral French Maritime Exercise ‘La Perouse’, which took place from April 5-7, 2021 in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region and was led by the French Navy.
About France
President – Emmanuel Macron
Capital – Paris
Currency – Euro, CFP franc
About Indian Navy
Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) – Admiral Karambir Singh
Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Navy) – New Delhi
