Defensive formation: which threats were dealt with at Indra Navy 2025

The Indra Navy- 2025 Russian-Indian naval maneuvers have ended in the Bay of Bengal. Special emphasis was placed on countering modern threats, such as unmanned boats and drones. The sailors learned to deal with them during the day and at night. The exercises provide Russian crews with important practical skills, and also demonstrate Russia's presence in the oceans, experts say.

What was practiced during the Indra Navy - 2025 exercises

Ships of the Russian Navy and the Indian Navy completed their tasks in the waters of the Bay of Bengal as part of the joint naval exercise Indra Navy - 2025, the Defense Ministry said.

On the Russian side, a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet participated in the maneuvers, consisting of the corvettes "Sharp", "Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov", as well as the medium sea tanker "Pechenga". India was represented by the destroyer Rana and the corvette Kutar.

During the exercise, the crews of the two countries practiced tactical maneuvering in joint formations, fighting drones and unmanned boats, and conducted artillery firing at sea and air targets. In addition, the sailors completed the tasks of escorting the vessel and replenishing supplies on the move from the tanker Pechenga.

Deck-based helicopters of naval aviation were also involved. The Russian Ka-27M landed on the destroyer Rana, and the Indian Chetak landed on the deck of a Russian corvette.

The main emphasis was placed on combating unmanned boats and UAVs in the daytime and at night using naval artillery, heavy machine guns and small arms of naval anti-terror units.

After completing combat training tasks, the ships returned to Chennai port to summarize the results of the exercise.

The commander of the Pacific Fleet detachment, captain of the first rank Alexey Antsiferov, noted that the sailors had worked out how to repel modern threats at sea, including drone attacks.

"The main feature of this exercise is that its design reflects modern realities, that is, the threats that can be expected at sea today. This is primarily a reflection of combined attacks," he told TASS. Antsiferov noted that during the maneuvers, "the reflection of anti-ship missiles was simulated along with the attack of unmanned boats and unmanned aerial vehicles."

According to him, everything went according to plan, all the elements were completed in full. The commander highly appreciated the cooperation with the Indian side. "Everyone understood each other, and even changes were made during the exercise, which were fully accepted by the Indian side. Some elements have already been completed during maneuvers at sea," Antsiferov said.

— Such maneuvers teach us how to interact with friendly fleets. We hold them regularly. Sailors are trained to rescue people in distress at sea, find submarines, repel air attacks, and fight pirates," military expert Viktor Litovkin told Izvestia.

The fight against unmanned boats is a particularly urgent task for the crews, the expert noted.

"We do this regularly in the Black Sea," he added. — It is necessary to be able to hit such boats in order to prevent attacks on ships and ports. Ukraine has tried many times to attack Sevastopol, Kerch, the Crimean Bridge, our ships and vessels with unmanned boats. In addition, their movement was corrected by heavy American drones.

Russian sailors gain good practical skills during maneuvers, military expert Rear Admiral Mikhail Chekmasov told Izvestia.

"The cruise itself is quite a difficult task for corvette—class ships," he explained. — These ships are designed to perform tasks in the near sea zone, and in this case they ended up in the ocean zone. Corvettes have been showing good capabilities for operations in remote areas of the world's oceans for several years. The ships are new and technically well-prepared, so they are being sent to participate in such exercises.

Such events, in addition, are a demonstration of the Russian flag and show that it is present in the oceans, the expert added.

— These are planned exercises that are being conducted in the Indian region with the naval forces of India and other countries. We traditionally cooperate with India on issues of naval cooperation. Previously, the Indians used to buy submarines and surface ships from us," Mikhail Chekmasov noted.

A series of exercises

A detachment of Pacific Fleet ships, which includes the corvettes Sharp, Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and the tanker Pechenga, took part in maneuvers in Indonesia in February. Representatives of the USA, China, Japan, France, India, Great Britain and other countries were also involved in them. The main events took place in the waters of the Badung Strait and on the island of Bali. The main goal was to increase operational compatibility between the naval forces of different countries in the field of disaster relief and other humanitarian operations.

In early March, the Maritime Security Belt 2025 exercises were held in the northern Indian Ocean, in which ships from Iran and China took part together with the Pacific Fleet detachment. The crews worked out the tasks of freeing captured vessels, search and rescue at sea, and conducted artillery firing at sea and air targets. On the Chinese side, two warships and one integrated supply vessel were involved in the exercise, while Iran fielded 16 warships and boats, two support vessels and two helicopters.

In mid-March, joint maneuvers of the Pacific Fleet detachment with the Pakistan Navy took place in the format of a passing exercise. This is a standard for naval maneuvers between two fleets, during which communication and interaction between them are checked in a military situation or when providing humanitarian assistance.