Indian Security Forces: Joint Exercises

Joint Military Training-2022 With Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) at Air Force Station Kalaikunda



Posted On: 04 NOV 2022 5:16PM by PIB Delhi



On 03 November 2022, the 11th edition of the annual Joint Military Training (JMT) between the Indian Air Force (lAF) and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) commenced at Air Force Station, Kalaikunda. The two Air Forces have resumed this training after a gap of two years. The training could not be carried out in the intervening two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This edition of JMT would be conducted over a period of six weeks. The bilateral phase of the exercise will be conducted from 09 to 18 November 2022 and will see the two Air Forces engage in advanced air combat simulations.


The RSAF is participating in JMT-2022 with F-16 aircraft, while the IAF would field the Su-30 MKI, Jaguar, MiG-29 and LCA Tejas aircraft. The exercise underscores the strong and longstanding relationship between India and Singapore in the domain of defence cooperation. It seeks to provide the participating contingents with an opportunity to share valuable operational knowledge, experiences and best practices, while strengthening the professional bonds between the two Air Forces.


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First India-Africa trilateral naval exercise ends​

India has held its first-ever trilateral Navy exercise with Africa as part of initiatives to expand defence partnership with the continent. The Trilateral exercise comprising the Navies of India, Tanzania and Mozambique was held late last month.


Indian Navy Ship (INS) Tarkash was part of this exercise during a visit to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. On arrival Commanding Officer, Captain Abraham Samuel, accompanied by Defence Attaché Captain Nitesh Garg paid a courtesy call on General Jacob John Mkunda, Chief of Defence Forces and Rear Admiral Ramson Godwin Mwaisaka, Commander of Tanzania Navy, according to a statement by the Indian High Commission in Tanzania.


Various professional disciplines like handling Asymmetric Threats, Boat and Helicopter Operations, Casualty Evacuation drills, Fire Fighting, and Visit Board Search and Seize (VBSS) drills were part of the exercise, officials said. October 26-28 saw the harbour phase and the sea phase was conducted from October 28-29.


INS Tarkash first arrived at Lagos port in Nigeria on Thursday, 8 September, as part of her voyage across 3 Oceans, over 24000nm and 133 Days with the mission to strengthen bridges of friendship and celebrate “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”.

During her port call in Nigeria, the ship conducted professional interactions with the Nigerian Navy to enhance Interoperability and share best practices between the navies. In addition, the ship also participated in sports fixtures, and social engagements and will remain open to visitors to provide an opportunity for the Indian diaspora and locals to interact with her crew.



INS Tarkash also participated in a bilateral Maritime Partnership Exercise with Tanzania. The exercise was held in two phases. The harbour phase was from October 26-28 and the Sea Phase was conducted on 28 October. The exercise saw sharing of best practices and enhanced the inter-operability been the two movies, officials informed.


India and Tanzania signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence cooperation in 2003. The MoU provides a framework for progressing various defence cooperation initiatives between the two countries. In recent years, India and Tanzania have been cooperating in the field of defence and training in Indian institutions. About 400 Tanzanian defence personnel have been trained in India.



This August, Tanzanian Defence minister Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax led a delegation consisting of Senior Armed Forces officials where they visited the manufacturing facilities of Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) to explore opportunities for collaboraton.


In January, the Mozambican Navy received two additional fast interceptor boats from India to help sustain its capacity building. The two boats which are the Solas Marine fast interceptor craft were handed over during a port visit by the tank landing ship INS Kesari. The class are armed with machine guns and feature bullet-resistant cabins.
 

Projects to track small fishing vessels along India’s coast makes progress​

Third edition of the ‘pan-India’ coastal defence Exercise ‘Sea Vigil-22’ to be held on November 15-16 to test coastal security​

A delayed project to install transponders on small fishing vessels, under 20 metres in length, as part of coastal security measures instituted post 26/11 Mumbai attacks is now making progress, with a project underway in Tamil Nadu.

In a related development, the third edition of the ‘pan-India’ coastal defence Exercise ‘Sea Vigil-22’ is scheduled to be held on November 15 and 16, the Navy said on Monday. The Exercise was conceptualised in 2018 to validate various measures that have been instituted towards enhancing maritime security since ‘26/11’.

The process of installing transponders on sub-20 metre boats commenced with a pilot project in Tamil Nadu for 5,000 vessels is underway, said Vice Admiral Ashok Kumar (Retd.), National Maritime Security Coordinator. To allay the concerns of fishermen, the transponders with positioning navigation systems have been modified into a two-way communication system, he stated.

There are close to three lakh registered fishing vessels of which around 2.5 lakh are under 20 metres, Vice Admiral Kumar added.

An Automatic Identification System (AIS) was made compulsory for all vessels above 20 metres after the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The decision was taken by the National Committee on Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, set up to look into issues related to coastal security. However, for vessels under 20 metres, the process has been delayed for several reasons.

Trials were conducted in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation on one of their communication satellites last year along the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, officials said. The Vehicle Management System (VMS) has advanced features and enables two-way communication. The technology has been handed over to four companies for commercial production.

Verification and monitoring of a large number of fishing vessels in India has been greatly eased by the creation of the online ReALCraft (Registration and Licensing of Fishing Craft), the Indian Navy said in written response to questions from The Hindu. This information is available to the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. “Further, issuance of biometric identity cards to the majority of fishermen and composite card readers to the maritime security agencies has been done to enable biometric verification of the identity of fishing vessel crews at sea,” it added.

In this direction, as part of overall efforts for Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) on the high seas, the Quad grouping, comprising of India, Australia, Japan and U.S., at the Tokyo summit early this year announced an ambitious Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative to track “dark shipping” and build a “faster, wider, and more accurate maritime picture of near-real-time activities in partners’ waters” integrating three critical regions in the Indo-Pacific - the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Ex-Sea Vigil​

The exercise will see activation of the coastal security apparatus across India and is being conducted by the Indian Navy in coordination with Coast Guard and other Ministries entrusted with the task of maritime activities. “The exercise will be undertaken along the entire 7,516 km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone of India and will involve all the Coastal States and Union territories along with other maritime stakeholders, including the fishing and coastal communities,” the Navy said.

The scale and conceptual expanse of the exercise is unprecedented in terms of the geographical extent, the number of stakeholders involved, the number of units participating and in terms of the objectives to be met, it stated. The exercise is a build up towards the major Theatre Level Readiness Operational Exercise (TROPEX), which the Indian Navy conducts every two years.

Sea Vigil and TROPEX together will cover the entire spectrum maritime security challenges, the Navy said. “Exercise Sea Vigil-22 will provide realistic assessment of our strengths and weaknesses and thus will help in further strengthening maritime and national security,” the Navy added.