Indian and Australian navies commence 4th edition of AUSINDEX - See pics

Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Anzac Class Frigate, HMAS Warramunga which participated in Exercise MALABAR along with the IN units is also part of the exercise. 

 

The Ministry of Defence informed that this edition of AUSINDEX includes complex surface, sub-surface and air operations between ships, submarines, helicopters and Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the participating Navies.

 

"The participating Indian Naval Ships Shivalik and Kadmatt are the latest indigenously designed and built Guided Missile Stealth Frigate and Anti-Submarine Corvette respectively," the Ministry of Defence said. 

 

These ships form part of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam under the Eastern Naval Command.

 

Commenced in 2015 as a bilateral IN-RAN maritime exercise, AUSINDEX has grown in complexity over the years and the 3rd edition of the exercise, held in 2019 in the Bay of Bengal, included anti-submarine drills for the first time.

During this edition, the surface units of both the countries will be exercising with HMAS Rankin, a Collins Class Australian Submarine, Royal Australian Air Force P-8A and F-18A aircraft, along with integral helicopters of both the Navies. 

 

The exercise will provide an opportunity for both navies to further bolster inter-operability, gain from best practices and develop a common understanding of procedures for Maritime Security Operations.