Australia concludes naval drills with Indian Navy in Bay of Bengal.

According to information published by the Indian government on November 7, 2022, a maritime partnership exercise involving Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Anzac and Indian Navy ships INS Jalashwa and INS Kavaratti along with their embarked helicopters were held in the Bay of Bengal.
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INS Jalashwa, Canberra class LHD HMAS Adelaide and Kamorta class corvette INS Kavaratti. (Picture source: Indian government)

The exercises included tactical manoeuvres, helicopter landings and amphibious operations, which signified the high degree of interoperability between IN and RAN.

RAN ships HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Anzac visited Visakhapatnam from 30 Oct to 01 Nov 2022. This was part of Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2022 (IPE 22).

The Australian Defence Forces were hosted by the Eastern Naval Command. Ships of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet as also personnel from the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force participated in various joint activities.

The harbour phase included a wide range of professional interactions including experience sharing, joint planning activities and friendly sports exchanges. The successful completion of the exercise marks another milestone in the growing India-Australia military interactions.

INS Jalashwa is an amphibious transport dock currently in service with the Indian Navy. Formerly USS Trenton, she along with six Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopters were procured from the United States by India for a total of US$90 million in 2005. She was commissioned on 22 June 2007.

Jalashwa features a well deck, which can house up to four LCM-8 mechanised landing craft that can be launched by flooding the well deck and lowering the hinged gate aft of the ship.

She also has a flight deck for helicopter operations from which up to six medium helicopters can operate simultaneously. The deck can also be used to operate vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft like the Sea Harrier, in special circumstances.

She is also capable of embarking over 1,000 troops, and is fully equipped with extensive medical facilities including four operation theatres, a 12-bed ward, a laboratory and a dental centre.

INS Kavaratti

INS Kavaratti (P31) is an anti-submarine warfare corvette of the Indian Navy built under Project 28. It is the last of four Kamorta-class corvettes. The ship was built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata, and launched on 19 May 2015.

Kavaratti is India's one of the first ship to have a superstructure of carbon fibre composite material that has been integrated with its main hull resulting in lower top weight and maintenance costs and improved stealth features.

The ship is 109 metres long and 12.8 metres broad and is highly maneuverable with a top speed of 25 knots. It has a displacement of 3,300 tonnes and a range of about 3,450 nautical miles at 18 knots.

It is powered by 4 diesel engines that generate a combined power of 3000 kW and propelled by a main unit of four 3,888 kW diesel engines at 1,050 rpm.