Indian, Singapore navy to engage in five-day naval exercise in South China Sea

SINGAPORE (PTI): The five-day joint naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the Singapore Navy will start Saturday in the South China Sea.

Five Indian navy ships, under the command of Rear Admiral Harish Chandra Singh Bisht, arrived in Singapore on Friday for the drill that aims to strengthen bilateral maritime security relations.

The joint exercises, held on alternate year in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, has built up understanding and knowledge between Indian and Singapore navies, Rear Admiral Joseph Leong, Fleet Commander of the Republic of Singapore Navy told PTI at a reception hosted on board INS Jyoti.

He cited benefits of the joint exercise and cooperation developed by the Indian and Singapore navies in tackling major challenges and especially the piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

"We understand each other and have a high level contact in managing maritime security," said Rear Admiral Leong.

Rear Admiral Bisht said the annual exercises, held since 1994, were important to sharpen the skill of naval forces.

INS Delhi, INS Ranvijay, INS Ranveer, INS Jyoti and INS Kirch manned by 1,400 naval personnel are participating in the exercise. Singapore will have four naval ships including a submarine.

INS Ranvijay, the most powerful Indian naval ship, will carry out anti-submarine and anti-missile exercises.

But this time, the exercises would be a "mock warfare" though in the past live firing were tried out.

Russia to lease n-submarine to India by October

Moscow: Russia will lease K-152 Nerpa, a nuclear-powered submarine, to India by October this year, a Russian naval admiral said on Wednesday.

'The submarine is completely ready for transfer. An Indian crew is currently training aboard with Russian instructors,' said the admiral who requested anonymity.

'This should be completed before October. We're running late,' he said.

Twenty sailors were killed after toxic gas leaked on board Nerpa as the submarine was undergoing trials in the Sea of Japan in November 2008. A fire extinguishing system malfunctioned, leading to the discharge.

The $900-million lease contract was drawn up after Moscow and New Delhi struck a deal in January 2004 when New Delhi agreed to fund a part of the submarine's construction.

The Nerpa was originally scheduled to be inducted into the Indian Navy as INS Chakra by mid-2008.

Some media reports earlier said that the K-152 Nerpa attack submarine had already been transferred to India on a 10-year lease.

BRAHMOS underwater test-firing by year-end

NEW DELHI (PTI): India will testfire the submarine-launched version of the 290km range BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile by the end of this year.

"We will testfire the underwater version of the missile by the end of this year after we get the pontoon for the purpose," BrahMos Aerospace chief A Sivathanu Pillai told reporters here.

Underwater weapon-delivery platforms are considered to be the most potent second strike capability of countries' defence strength.

India has developed significant underwater weapon delivery platforms in the recent past including an indigenously-built nuclear submarine INS Arihant and successfully test-fired the nuclear capable 700km range K-15 Shaurya missile.

The Navy is also expecting to get a Russian-made Akula-II class 'Nerpa' nuclear submarine on lease soon.

The test-firing of the BRAHMOS underwater missile would be done from a pontoon at Integrated Test Range in Balasore on Orissa coast from a DRDO facility.

The same pontoon was used for carrying out the test-firing of the 700-km range K-15 'Shaurya' Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile a couple of years ago.

A ring will have to be fitted in the existing pontoon for fitting-in the BRAHMOS which has a relatively smaller diameter than the K-15 SLBM.

The under-water cruise missile will have the same capabilities as its earlier variants and would be able to strike at both land and sea-based targets.

BRAHMOS has been developed jointly by India and Russia and inducted in the Army and the Navy.

The two countries have also signed an agreement for developing the hypersonic version of the missile which currently flies at a speed of 2.8 mach.

Cochin Shipyard to expand capacity with Rs 500 crore investment

KOCHI (PTI): The Public sector Cochin Shipyard Ltd is proposing to expand its existing capacity through a ship lift system with an investment of Rs 500 crore, a top official said Friday.

The new system is likely to come up at the northern end of the CSL estate and would be 120 metre long and able to accommodate ships up to 6,000 tonnes, CSL Chairman and Managing Director, Commodore K Subramaniam, told reporters here.

The project is likely to be taken up by next year.

The shipyard has two dry-docks. One of the docks is being used for the construction of the Indigenous Aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy and the other is used for ship building and ship repair. Once the ship lift system gets completed it is likely to ease the congestion in the dry-dock.

At present, the yard has orders for 34 ships consisting 14 Offshore Platform vessels for domestic and international owners and 20 Fast Patrol vessels for the Coast Guard totally valued at Rs 4,000 crore.

On India's first Indigenous Aircraft carrier being built at the CSL for the Navy, he said it is to be 'floated out' in December last year. But due to various reasons, it could not take place and will be floated out this year end, he said.

CSL is hoping to get more orders from the Indian Navy very soon, he said.

Recession did have an impact on the shipyard as it did not receive any orders from 2008 to September 2010. After Sept 2010, the yard received orders for 24 ships of the 34 ships.

The effect of recession will be felt this year and the next year. "We had a very good growth in the last 5 years.

That will not be there this year and the next year. But our performance would not be affected." he said.

The shipyard's shipbuilding income increased to Rs 1,012 crore in 2009-10 from Rs 222 crore in 2005-06.

CSL has been diversifying into new areas of construction and repairs over the last few years and had successfully completed two major ship conversion projects, one for a Singapore based owner and the other for National Institute for Oceanography, Goa. The former was a conversion of a fishing vessel to research vessel and the latter was a conversion of fishing vessel to a seismic survey one.

The CMD said the shipyard was also exploring the eastern and western coasts to set up ship repair facilities.

On the eastern coast they were looking at Tamil Nadu, he said.

The shipyard has also acquired 220 acres to set up ship building facility at the proposed Vizhinam Port at Thiruvananthapuram, he said.

First Fleet Tanker for the Indian Navy Delivered In Mumbai

Today in Mumbay there was the commissioning ceremony for the “Deepak”, the first of two fleet tankers ordered from Fincantieri by the Indian Navy.

Present at the ceremony were A.K. Antony, the Indian Minister of the Defence, Admiral Nirmal Varma, Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, and Corrado Antonini, Chairman of Fincantieri. The order is the first surface vessel India has ordered from a European company, gained in competition against prominent international players, in particular from Russia and Korea.

With a displacement at full load of 27,500 tonnes, the 175 metre long fleet tanker, with a beam of 25 metres and a height of 19, has two 10,00 kW diesel engines for propulsion and can reach a maximum speed of 20 knots. Further features include a propulsion system with an adjustable propeller and a flight deck for medium-heavy helicopters (up to 10 tons).

The ship can accommodate 250 crew and personnel. Thanks to double hatches the vessel can supply four ships at the same time.

In accordance with the new Marpol regulations of the International Maritime Organization regarding safeguarding of the environment, the ship has been built with a double hull which will afford greater protection to the fuel tanks thereby avoiding the risk of pollution in case of collision or damage.

Cooperation with India commenced in 2004 when Fincantieri signed two contracts with Cochin shipyard for the design of the engine, technology transfer and provision of complementary services for the construction of Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC). In addition, in 2007, the company delivered the “Sagar Nidhi”, an oceanographic vessel for the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Madras, which is already in service off the Indian coast to the full satisfaction of the customer.

Fincantieri considers the market in the East strategic and holds in high regard the development of cooperation with its prestigious Indian partner, proof of which is both the opening in recent years of a representative office in New Delhi and, now, of a Fincantieri technical support unit in India in order to guarantee to the Indian Navy maximum availability and efficiency of the new Fleet Tankers.

The Indian Navy is the fourth Navy in the world in terms of resources/staff (96.000 men and women) and vessels (125). In recent years, the Indian Navy has started complex modernization of its fleet renewing some units built locally, thanks to targeted industrial cooperation with Western countries.

The sister ship of the “Deepak”, the “Shakti”, which was launched last October at Sestri Ponente (Genoa) shipyard, is currently being fitted out at Sestri Ponente shipyard (Genova). Delivery is scheduled in autumn 2011.

Indian Navy's UAVs to keep an eye on intrusion

Porbander: Surveillance along the western coastline has been beefed up with the commissioning of a squadron of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) at the Naval base in Porbander.

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, called the Heron, will now keep an eye on intrusions along the western coast, which was used by the 26/11 attackers to enter Mumbai.

Its operations will entirely be controlled from a remote location and will send back pictures and videos of any suspicious movement in the sea. The Heron is equipped to locate even submarines, warships and aircraft, and can remain in the sky for up to 12 hours at a stretch.

"It doesn't have a pilot who can get tired. So it has a lot of endurance. It can fly far or survey from near. It has the potential to carry equipment such as a camera, a communication interceptor and video transmitter. These UAVs will prove to be a big boost for surveillance. They are equipped with most advanced systems and can fly for long hours," says Western Naval Command spokesperson Captain Manohar Nambiar.

Accompanying the Heron is the third generation Searcher MK2 which has also been commissioned.

Smaller in size than the Heron, the Searcher is also equipped with electro-optical camera and electronic support systems.

With two Heron's and two Searcher MK2 craft, the Navy will now be better equipped to handle intrusions from the sea. Navy officials say that very soon, a new version of UAVs armed with artillery will also be introduced along the western coastline.

"We will continue to upgrade these UAVs. A constant research programme is also on and definitely we will add more vehicles here," says Indian Navy's Vice Admiral Sanjiv Bhasin.

With the new UAV squadron in place, the western coastline can be secured much better.

India, Russia discuss Admiral Gorshkov, piracy threat

NEW DELHI (PTI): India and Russia on Monday discussed ways to increase cooperation in tackling the growing threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean region and the issue of training navy personnel for operating aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov.

The deliberations in this regard were held between Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma and his Russian counterpart Admiral Vladimir Sergeevich Vysotskiy, who arrived here Monday on a three-day visit.

"Whilst discussing the maritime environment, specific emphasis was laid on the growing threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and various possibilities for the two navies to co-operate," Navy officials said here.

Discussions on ongoing projects included "detailed deliberations on the training of Indian Naval personnel for the operation of aircraft carrier rechristened as INS Vikramaditya, scheduled to commence later this year," they said.

India had placed orders for the 44,500 tonne Admiral Gosshkov aircraft carrier in 2004 but the delivery schedule of the warship was delayed due to frequent price revision by the Russian side.

After the issue related to the purchase was settled last year, the warship is now expected to join the Indian Navy by the end of 2012.

The two Admirals also held discussions on issues of common interest ranging from the maritime environment in the Indian Ocean Region and operational philosophies of the two navies.

They also discussed the ways of enhancing possibilities for regularising Navy-to-Navy interactions with 'staff talks' and the feasibility of enhancing the scope of the INDRA exercises between the Indian and the Russian navies.

During his visit, Vysotskiy will also visit the Mumbai-based Western Naval Command and go on-board INS Shivalik, the indigenously built stealth frigate.

The two countries share deep historical military relations which have transformed into a strategic partnership with joint developmental projects such as BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile system and Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft being cases in point.

Bangladesh naval delegation visits Southern Naval Command

KOCHI (PTI): A high-level delegation of Bangladesh Navy arrived on a two-day visit to the Southern Naval Command here on Monday to strengthen mutual cooperation between the two navies in areas of professional training.

The visiting delegation, led by Commodore M Nizamuddin Ahmed, Commodore Commanding, Chittagong, called on Vice-Admiral K N Sushil, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.

The programme of the delegation includes a briefing on Indian Naval training and visits to various training facilities at Southern Naval Command, a Defence release said.

Several Bangladesh Navy personnel were undergoing training in various institutions under Southern Naval Command, it said.

Similarly, India has also been sending its Navy personnel to Bangladesh for training.

Indian Navy Marine Commandos to be Equipped with Israeli Rifles

The Indian Navy marine commandos (MARCOS) will be armed with Israeli-made Tavor assault rifles and Galil sniper rifles to enhance their operational capability.

A defence ministry official said a consignment of over 500 TAR-21 Tavor assault rifles worth Rs150m ($3.3m) and another 30 Galil sniper rifles worth Rs20m ($437,847) was delivered to MARCOS.

"The Israeli team will be here to jointly inspect the delivered weapons and assemble them. MARCOS will begin using these rifles and start training on them from this month," the official said.

The Tavor is a 5.56mm-calibre weapon of Nato specifications while the Galil is a 7.62mm sniper weapon.

The two weapons will be a standard weapon for the force, and are already in use with the Indian Army's special forces and the Indian Air Force's Garud special forces units.

MARCOS, a force trained for special operations, is currently using the indigenous INSAS rifles and Russian Kalashnikov variants, according to IANS.

 Source: http://www.naval-technology.com/news/news107258.html

Britain wants to cooperate with India in Navy ship building

NEW DELHI (PTI): Britain Friday said it wanted to extend cooperation with India in the field of naval ship building.

"There is a considerable scope. There are common things like the way we build ships in the UK. The way we operate is common with the way India does. We do think that naval area is one where there are immense opportunities," British High Commissioner to India Richard Stagg told reporters here.

India and the UK have had a long Navy-to-Navy relationship as both the aircraft carriers which the Indian Navy has operated were earlier in service with the British Navy.

India, which has embarked on a major modernisation plan for its armed forces, has emerged as a favourite with various defence equipment-manufacturing countries with its plan of spending over USD 100 billion on defence in the next ten years.

Indian Navy: 2010 Year-End-Review

The nation woke up to the threat from the sea in the wake of the Mumbai attacks of November 2008. The Government has since initiated a slew of measures to beef up coastal security and in the year gone by the Indian Navy, besides the Coast Guard, witnessed much activity and expansion.

The Mig-29K and the INS Shivalik were the biggest force multipliers in the Navy during the year gone by. A large number of warships were also launched, including the INS Tarkash stealth frigate in Russia and INS Shakti fleet tanker in Italy in the Indian Navy’s efforts to bolster its blue water capability.

The Navy’s anti-piracy operations continued reaping dividends during the year gone by, making the sea lanes safer. Keeping up with India’s growing clout, the Navy was the foremost among the three arms in outreach, conducting exercises with foreign flotillas, the Naval ports hosting flagships of various friendly nations and the Indian warships visiting distant shores.

AUGMENTING COASTAL SECURITY

• The Indian Navy, being the nodal agency for Coastal Security among all maritime stakeholders, established four Joint Operations Centres, - at Mumbai, Kochi, Visakhapatnam and Port Blair. Besides the Coast Guard and the state Marine Police, other agencies including the Customs, Intelligence Bureau and Ports Authorities are all networked with these centres. Also, each coastal district has been placed under an Area Operations Centre for coordinating coastal security activities.
• The Navy conducted 26 coastal exercises during the year involving other agencies to achieve better synergy. In all 12 exercises were conducted on the West coast, ten on the East, two in Lakshadweep & Minicoy Islands and two in Andaman & Nicobar archipelago. Besides, 89 Awareness Campaigns were conducted throughout the year in a bid to involve the large fishing community into the coastal security matrix.
• The Indian Navy also played a key role in obtaining approval of the National Committee for Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security (NCSMCS), in April, 2010 for the National Maritime Domain awareness (MDA) Grid. The Navy later formulated a Detailed Project Report for implementing it as a project of national importance. When the common information grid would be created, it will synergise and enable effective sharing of maritime related information among all stakeholders, thereby leading to faster response by security agencies.

ANTI-PIRACY OPERATIONS

• Indian Navy has deployed 23 ships by rotation in the piracy-infested Gulf of Aden since October 23, 2008. To date over 1,400 merchant vessels have been escorted safely, over 1200 of them from about 50 other countries, and 26 piracy attempts foiled. The Indian Navy is constantly engaged with other countries on capacity building and coordination in efforts aimed at keeping open one of the busiest shipping channels around the world and avoid choking of international trade, particularly Oil.

INDUCTIONS

• Defence Minister Shri AK Antony inducted the air dominance fighter Mig-29K into the Indian Navy at INS Hansa, Vasco da Gama, Goa on 19th February. The 4+ Generation multirole fighter jet, equipped with Beyond Visual Range (BVR) and guided anti-ship Missiles and smart bombs, will eventually berth on the INS Vikramaditya, the Gorshkov aircraft carrier, when it is likely to be delivered in 2012.
• Shri Antony also commissioned INS Shivalik, the first of three indigenously designed and built stealth frigates, at Mumbai on 29th April. Equipped with Combat Management System, CMS-17, manufactured by the Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited, Ghaziabad, the Shivalik class will be the mainstay frigates of the Navy’s fleet in the first half of the 21st century.
• During the year two Water Jet Fast Attack Crafts were also commissioned, taking the total to eight of ten ordered.

IN THE PIPELINE

• Tarkash, the second of the three follow on Talwar class stealth frigates being built by Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad, Russia, was launched on 23rd June. The Tarkash will carry the Brahmos missile in vertical launch mode, giving it 360 degrees manoeuvrability. The warship, also equipped with SAM missiles, torpedoes and Russian built anti-submarine helicopter Kamov Ka-31, will join the Indian Navy’s fleet in the second half of 2011.
• On 11th October the INS Shakti, second of the two Indian fleet tankers being built by Fincantieri, was launched at Genoa, Italy. The first, INS Deepak, is undergoing advanced sea trials before delivery to the Indian Navy.
• On 1st April INS Chennai, the third ship of Project-15A, was launched at Defence shipyard Mazagon Docks, Mumbai. Armed with Brahmos, the new ships of the Project-15 class will pioneer the Indian Navy’s foray into sophisticated multifunction radar system.
  During the year the Navy also obtained approval to induct six submarines under Project-75 India and four Landing Platform Dock (LPDs) ships under the ‘Buy and Make Indian’ clause.
• The Indian Navy also concluded a contract to buy four additional P-8Is, taking the total number of the US-origin maritime aircraft ordered to 12.*

JOINT EXERCISES AND OTHER NAVAL OPERATIONS

• Four Indian Naval warships, INS Mysore, Tabar, Ganga and Aditya, sailed for South Africa to participate in the 2nd IBSAMAR, the Joint Exercise of the Navies of India, Brazil and South Africa. They formed part of the 11 warships that held manoeuvres in waters off the coast of Durban from September 13-27, 2010.
• The Indian Navy’s Western Fleet held the 14th Malabar Joint Exercise with the US Navy in the Arabian Sea, from 23rd April to 2nd May. One Los Angeles class nuclear-powered submarine formed part of the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet that took part in the exercise, envisaged under the India-US Framework for Maritime Security Cooperation to achieve interoperability, with the first such exercise held way back in 1992. The 7th Milan, biennial exercise of the Navies of Asia-Pacific littoral states, was held at Port Blair from August 3-8, 2010. Started in 1995, 12 countries participated this year, the highest number so far, including Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and delegations from New Zealand, Vietnam and Brunei.
• The 7th Konkan Joint Exercise with the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy was held from 26th July while the 20th SIMBEX annual bilateral exercise with the Singapore Navy was held in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal between April 3-16, 2010.
• The Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet deployed Guided Missile Destroyers INS Rana and Ranjit, fleet tanker INS Jyoti and missile corvette INS Kulish to South East Asia. The ships undertook passage exercises with the Navies of Indonesia, Singapore and Australia.
• Eight Marine Commandos including two Officers visited Mauritius from 17th May to 4th June,training 32 Special Forces personnel of the Mauritius National Coast Guard in operations including heliborne. Earlier four Marcos including an Officer trained 12 men of the Maldives National Defence Force commandos from April 15-26, 2010.
• Indian Navy also executed Operation ‘Raasta Saaf’ (Pathfinder) on 10th August in the wake of containers falling off MV Chitra off Mumbai. The Escort Force surveyed the route and ensured safe passage for vessels.

DECOMMISSIONING

• Two Foxtrot Class submarines, - INS Vela and Vagli, commissioned in 1973 and ’74 respectively, bid adieu during the year. The Vagli, decommissioned on 9th December after more than 36 years of service, was the last of the Foxtrot Class submarines operated by the Indian Navy.
• The last of the Seaward Defence Boats, T-58, was also decommissioned this year, in Chennai, rendering more than 25 years of service.

ADVENTURE SPORTS – SOLO CIRCUMNAVIGATION
‘Sagar Parikrama’, the first Indian solo circumnavigation, was completed when Commander Dilip Dhonde returned Mumbai on 19th May aboard the sailing boat INS Mhadei. Cdr Dhonde’s voyage began on August 19, 2009 and took him through 21,600 nautical miles, or 38,880 kms, around the world, during its 277 day odyssey, overcoming very often the rough sea. Cdr Dhonde’s feat can be appreciated by the fact that less than 300 people have succeeded in the attempt so far.

India seeks Indian Ocean supremacy with warship research

India launched a new naval research centre for warships on Tuesday, part of efforts by the South Asian giant to build its sea defences and counter the perceived threat of China in the Indian Ocean.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony laid the foundation stone for the National Institute for Research and Development in Shipbuilding (NIRDESH) in the southern state of Kerala, which will be built at a cost of six billion rupees (133 million dollars).

The facility, which will be up and running in two years, will help develop technology for "drawing board to delivery" of warships for India, a naval official said.

The Kerala unit will work independently of the national Defence Research and Development Organisation, with the aim of reducing India's dependence on military imports, which mostly come from Russia.

The 136-vessel navy said in a statement that NIRDESH would ensure India's maritime security.

"This would empower Indian navy, coastguard and other maritime security agencies in a manner befitting the country's stature and influence in the region," it said.

The facility would "ensure that the country would be self-reliant in this crucial area of defence technology," Antony added.

New Delhi is wary of growing Chinese influence around the Indian Ocean, where Beijing has funded or plans to invest in major infrastructure projects, including ports in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and military-ruled Myanmar.

In August, two Chinese warships raised eyebrows in Delhi when they sailed to adjoining Myanmar for a rare visit to promote ties between the two allied countries.

Retired admiral Arun Prakash, a former Indian naval chief, recently warned that the Chinese navy will have more warships than the United States within a decade and urged India to speed up naval procurement.

Analysts say India falls behind China in naval firepower, but the country should strive for supremacy in the strategic Indian Ocean, a vital shipping lane connecting Asia to Europe and the Middle East.

"Just because we cannot compete with China does not mean we do not defend our interests in the Indian Ocean where we want naval supremacy," retired Indian navy rear admiral Raja Menon told AFP.

India has already begun strengthening its military presence in the Andaman archipelago, which lies south of Myanmar, as part of plans to protect its interests in the ocean.

Delhi, which wants to boost its 14-strong submarine fleet, launched its first nuclear-powered submarine in 2009 and has invested in its military shipyards to start building an aircraft carrier and stealth frigates.

It also plans to buy eight long-range maritime spy planes by 2015 besides six Franco-Spanish Scorpene submarines for which orders were placed in 2006.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China's military spending was the second-largest in the world, after the United States, in 2009.

KPMG consultancy firm estimates India plans to spend 112 billion dollars on defence hardware between now and 2016.

India hiked its 2010-2011 military spending by four percent to 32 billion dollars but analysts like Menon warn that the navy's share of 16 percent of the defence allocation is insufficient for funding its expansion plans.

India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and still have unresolved territorial disputes.

Indian, US Navy joint exercise off Andaman cost from today

NEW DELHI (PTI): Aiming to strengthen their capabilities in techniques associated with salvage and diving, navies of India and the US will hold a week-long joint exercise codenamed 'SALVEX' off the coast off Andaman and Nicobar Islands from today.

In the exercise, Indian Navy’s diving tender INS Nireekshak and USS Safeguard, a specialised Salvage ship are participating.

During the exercise, the Indian Navy will also gain experience of working on underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and side scan SONARs being launched from USS Safeguard, Navy officials said.

It will also witness the operation of Hot Tap Equipment which is used for removal of oil or fuel from tanks of sunken vessels.


In the exercise, the Indian Navy team comprises 17 Clearance Divers including two officers and the US Navy team comprises 15 divers including two officers.

During the exercise, divers of the two sides will also hone their salvage skills on 'Mud Monster' – a pontoon specially built and sunk to practice salvage and diving exercises.

India is one of the four countries in the world having the capability to dive up to the depths of 300 metres into the sea.

INS Nireekshak is Indian Navy’s specialist diving support ship with the capacity to support dives up to 300 metres deep.

USS Safeguard is a Safeguard class auxilliary rescue and salvage ship.

The maiden SALVEX was conducted in 2005 and the series of exercises have been conducted annually thereafter alternately in India and US Pacific locations.

Interestingly in the first SALVEX, a vintage Sea Hawk fighter aircraft was recovered from a depth of about 50 metres off Kochi.

India and the US Navy engage each other in the annual Malabar series of war games as well.

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