2 warships of India Navy participate in French exercise La Perouse.

According to information published by the Indian government on March 16, 2023, Indian Navy’s indigenously built guided missile frigate, INS Sahyadri, and fleet tanker, INS Jyoti participated in the third edition of the multilateral exercise La Perouse.
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Indian Shivalik class frigate INS Sahyadri and French frigate La Fayette. (Picture source: French MoD)

The exercise was conducted in the Indian Ocean Region, and was aimed at enhancing maritime domain awareness and optimising maritime coordination amongst the participating navies in the Indo-Pacific Region.

In addition to Indian Naval ships, the exercise witnessed participation of HMAS Perth from the Royal Australian Navy, FS Dixmude and FS La Fayette from the French Navy, JMSDF ship Suzutsuki from Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force along with Type SH 60 J Helicopter, HMS Tamar from the Royal Navy and USS Charleston the United States Navy.

The two-day exercise provided all the participating navies an opportunity to undertake complex and advanced naval operations involving replenishment at sea, surface warfare drills, anti-air and air-defence exercises, cross deck helicopter operations, and tactical manoeuvres in a joint manner suitable for seamless maritime operations.

INS Sahyadri, is an indigenously designed and built guided missile stealth frigate fitted with state–of–the art weapons and sensors, which makes her capable of detecting and neutralising air, surface, and sub-surface threats.

INS Jyoti is a fleet tanker capable of providing prolonged sustenance at sea to the fleet. Both the ships are a part of Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam and function under the operational command of the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.

India-France relations

Several joint military exercises have been conducted as part of the Indo-French Defence Cooperation Agreement, such as the Indo-French Air Force Exercise Garuda IV held at Istres airbase in France from 14 to 25 June 2010, the Indo-French Joint Naval Exercise Varuna held in the Mediterranean Sea off the port of Toulon from 19 to 22 July 2012.

Under an agreement signed in 2018, the Indian and French Navies will be able to use each other's naval bases, with Indian warships being allowed to use French bases in the Indian and southern Pacific oceans.