CHENNAI /India/, March 26. /TASS/. Russian and Indian warships will train weapons engagement and joint maneuvering at Indra Navy exercise, Commander of the Russian group of Pacific fleet warships Captain First Rank Alexey Antsiferov said.
The drills will "strengthen interaction between the fleets and the historically solid friendship between India and Russia," he said. They will include "joint maneuvering, various missions, including weapons engagement," he added.
"It is not aimed at intimidating or threatening anyone, but at the development of interaction," the commander said.
"We constantly train on the background of the changing situation. Warships, weapons and tactics change. Combat training of our fleets is developing and the navymen exchange experience and communicate," he said.
The exercise is always important. "No matter what political conditions exist, our friendship has always been at a very high level," he added.
Russia is represented by the Rezky and the Aldar Tsydenzhapov corvettes and the Pechenga tanker at the exercise. India’s warships include the Project 61-ME destroyer Rana built in the Soviet Union in 1970-1980 on order from the Indian government and transferred to India in 1982 and the corvette Kuthar designed by Indian naval engineers and constructed in Mumbai.
Russia and India have been regularly conducting Indra drills for already more than 20 years. The drills aim to improve operational interoperability and bolster bilateral naval cooperation. In recent years, land and naval forces alternately participate in the maneuvers. In 2024, the exercise was held in the Gulf of Finland.