New Delhi: Indian Navy's indigenously built warship INS Sahyadri, deployed in the Indo-Pacific, participated in the maiden trilateral Maritime Partnership Exercise with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Indonesian Navy from September 20 and 21, Ministry of Defence informed in an official release.

The trilateral exercise provided an opportunity for the three maritime nations to strengthen their partnership and improve their collective capability to support a stable, peaceful and secure Indo-Pacific region. The exercise also provided the opportunity for the participating navies to benefit from each other's experience and expertise. Complex tactical and manoeuvring exercises, cross-deck visits and cross-deck landings of integral helicopters were conducted for training of crew and enhancement of interoperability, the release added.

INS Sahyadri, the third ship of the indigenously designed and built Project-17 class multirole stealth frigates was built at Mazagon Dock Ltd, Mumbai and is commanded by Capt Rajan Kapoor, the Ministry of Defence said.

Earlier on September 20, as part of the 30th Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX), which has been held annually since 1994 between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), Indian Naval Ships Ranvijay and Kavaratti and Submarine INS Sindhukesari arrived in Singapore, the Ministry of Defence said.

SIMBEX holds the distinction of being the longest continuous naval exercise that the Indian Navy has with any other country.

The two phases of SIMBEX-2023 are the Harbour Phase in Singapore from September 21–24 and the Sea Phase that follows. The drill also includes participation from the Long-Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft P8I in addition to Ranvijay, Kavaratti, and Sindhukesari, the Ministry of Defence said in an official release.

The Harbour Phase will witness a wide range of professional interactions, cross-deck visits, Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEE) and sports fixtures, aimed at enhancing interoperability and mutual understanding between the two navies, the release read.

The two navies' units will work to hone their combat prowess while enhancing their capacity to carry out multi-discipline operations together in the maritime environment.

Notably, the Sea Phase of SIMBEX 23 will involve complex and advanced air defence exercises, gunnery firings, tactical manoeuvres, anti-submarine exercises and other maritime operations.