The 19th edition of the Indian and French Navy bilateral exercise VARUNA-2021 was conducted in the Arabian Sea 25-27 April 2021. From the Indian Navy’s side, guided missile stealth destroyer INS Kolkata, guided missile frigates INS Tarkash and INS Talwar, Fleet Support Ship INS Deepak, with Seaking 42B and Chetak integral helicopters, a Kalvari class submarine and P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft, participated. The French Navy was represented by the aircraft carrier Charlesde- Gaulle with Rafale-M fighters, E2C Hawkeye aircraft and helicopters Caïman M and Dauphin embarked, Horizonclass air defence destroyer Chevalier Paul, Aquitaine-class multi-missions frigate FNS Provence with a Caïman M helicopter embarked and Command and supply ship Var. The Indian side was led by Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Nau Sena Medal, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, while the French side was led by Rear Admiral Marc Aussedat, Commander Task Force 473.
The three day exercise saw high tempo-naval operations at sea, including advanced air defence and anti-submarine exercises, intense fixed and rotary wing flying operations, tactical manoeuvres, surface and anti-air weapon firings, underway replenishment and other maritime security operations. Initiated in 1983, Indo-French naval cooperation plays a key role in the two countries› joint vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. It has intensified in recent years with increasingly ambitious joint exercises that have raised the degree of the two navies› interoperability to a new level. In early April, the Indian Navy took part for the first time in the France-led naval exercise "La Pérouse" with the navies of the United States, Australia and Japan.
