Panaji, May 1: The first part of the Indo-French joint naval exercise, ‘Varuna’ kickstarted today in the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast. The joint exercise between the navies of India and France will be conducted till May 10. Despite fire incident, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is taking part in the drill along with French carrier Charles De Gaulle. Indian Navy to Get 16 Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts; Defence Ministry Signs Second Contract.

Apart from INS Vikramaditya, destroyer INS Mumbai, the Teg-class frigate, INS Tarkash, the Shishumar- class submarine, INS Shankul, and the Deepak- class fleet tanker, INS Deepak, will be participating in this exercise. Two French destroyers FNS Forbin and FNS Provence, the frigate FNS Latouche-Treville, the tanker FNS Marne and a nuclear submarine are also taking part in the exercise. Indian Navy Confirms Re-Deployment of Nuclear Submarine, Aircraft Carrier in Arabian Sea Post Pulwama Attack.

Indian Navy's Tweet:

The exercise will be conducted in two phases. The harbour phase at Goa would include cross-visits, professional interactions and discussions and sports events. The sea phase would comprise various exercises across the spectrum of maritime operations. Nuclear and conventional submarines along with French Rafale and Indian MiG-29K fighters are also taking part in the 10-day exercise. Hand-in-Hand 2018: Indian Army, China's PLA Play Friendly Football Match in Chengdu; Watch Video.

Meanwhile, the second part of the exercise is scheduled to be held at the end of May in Djibouti. The bilateral naval exercise initiated in 1983 and christened as ‘Varuna’ in 2001, form a vital part of the Indo-French strategic partnership. The Varuna exercise aims at developing interoperability between the two navies and fostering mutual cooperation by learning from each other’s best practices to conduct joint operations.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 01, 2019 11:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).