INS Tabar participated in the 22nd edition of India – France bilateral exercise Varuna from September 2 to 4 in the Mediterranean Sea. Varuna, which was first held in 2001, has led to high levels of trust, interoperability and collaboration between the two navies. Aircraft carriers from both navies have also been a part of previous editions of the exercise.
Indian Navy’s P-8I aircraft touched down at Air Base 125 Istres-Le Tubé to take part in Varuna, marking its maiden deployment in Europe. This deployment comes 63 years after the Indian Naval Alizé aircraft, operating from INS Vikrant, last flew at Hyères Airbase. France was represented by frigate FS Provence, the first-in-class submarine Suffren and aircraft including Atlantique 2, MB-339, NH90 and Dauphin.
A series of naval operations including enhanced tactical manoeuvers, advanced anti-submarine warfare exercises, FLYEX, air defence exercise and live weapon firings were conducted during the exercise, showcasing seamless integration of assets of both the navies in all three domains.
The conduct of Varuna in the Mediterranean Sea is also intended to display the Indian Navy’s outreach and commitment towards sustained operations far away from IOR. INS Tabar itself has been on a long range deployment for months and participated in Varuna on the way back to India. Tabar had earlier conducted a similar deployment to European and African nations in 2021.
On June 27, INS Tabar paid a visit to Alexandria, Egypt. After its departure on June 30, the ship then arrived at Morocco’s Casablanca on July 8. The ship departed on July 10 and reached Hamburg, Germany on July 17. The frigate then sailed to Russia arriving at St. Petersburg on July 25 for a four day visit to participate in 328th Russian Navy Day Parade celebrations. INS Tabar, on departure from Russia successfully conducted a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with the Russian Navy ship Soobrazitelny on July 30.
On the return leg, Tabar conducted an MPX with the German Navy off the Kiel Canal on August 5. This involved Sea Lynx helicopters of the 3rd Squadron Naval Air Wing 5 of the German Navy. The frigate then arrived at London on August 7 for a four day visit. The ship proceeded to Gothenburg, Sweden to celebrate India’s Independence Day on August 15. During the inbound transit, an MPX was held with the Swedish Navy Ship HMS Munter, involving visual signalling and escort operations.
On August 18, INS Tabar reached Esbjerg, Denmark on a two day visit and proceeded to reach Malaga, Spain on August 25, holding an exercise with Spanish ship Atalaya during departure on August 27. INS Tabar proceeded towards Toulon, France, arriving on August 29, prior to Varuna.
There are six Talwar class frigates in Indian service, with four more on order: two of which are from Russia and two from India’s Goa Shipyard Ltd with ToT from Russia. The current six frigates are under the Western Naval Command and regularly used for long range deployments to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
