Indian Navy’s frontline frigate, INS Tabar undertook a maritime partnership exercise at sea with the Egyptian Navy Ship Toushka as it departed Alexandria after a two-day goodwill visit to Egypt.
Alexandria was INS Tabar's first port of call on Sunday after commencing a prolonged deployment on June 13 during which it will visit a number of ports in Africa and Europe till the end of September.
India and Egypt share warm bilateral relations and ships of the Indian Navy have frequently visited Alexandria port.
#INSTabar, deployed to Africa & Europe to participate in joint exercises with friendly navies & enhance military cooperation from June to September 2021.
First Port of call Alexandria, Egypt.@MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy @indiannavy @BDF_Bahrain https://t.co/lr0NA0K8oc
— India in Bahrain (@IndiaInBahrain) June 30, 2021
Commanding Officer INS Tabar, Captain M Mahesh and the crew of the ship also laid a wreath at Alexandria Naval Unknown Soldier Memorial. The Commanding Officer also called upon Rear Admiral Ayman al-Daly, Commander of Alexandria Naval Base.
The maritime partnership exercise with Toushka included helicopter deck landing operations and underway replenishment drills. These evolutions at sea exemplified naval cooperation and interoperability between the both navies and enhanced military cooperation with the friendly nation.
INS Tabar is a Talwar-class stealth Frigate built for Indian Navy in Russia. The ship is equipped with a versatile range of weapons and sensors and is among the earliest stealth frigates of the Indian Navy. The ship is part of the Indian Navy’s Western Fleet which is based at Mumbai under Western Naval Command.
Over the next few months, INS Tabar will conduct professional, social and sporting interactions besides also participating in a number of joint exercises with friendly navies during port visits to several countries.
It will transit across the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea and Baltic Sea while making port calls at Egypt, Italy, France, UK, Russia, Netherlands, Morocco, and Arctic Council countries like Sweden and Norway.
In addition to PASSEX with host navies of countries being visited, the ship is also scheduled to participate in bilateral exercises like 'Konkan' with the Royal Navy, 'Varuna' with French Navy and 'Indra' with Russian Federation Navy.
The deployment will also see participation by the ship in the Russian Navy Day celebrations from July 22 to 27.
The ship will operate in conjunction with the friendly navies so as to build military relations, develop interoperability and project long range sustenance. Indian Navy undertakes regular overseas deployments particularly in the maritime areas of primary interest. These engagements are aimed to further strengthen maritime security in the region and to consolidate combined operations against maritime threats. These interactions will also offer an opportunity to navies to observe and imbibe the ‘Best Practices’ followed in each other’s Navy.
