Indian Navy's INS Sumedha in Egypt for 'Exercise Bright Star-23'

New Delhi, Sep 7 (IANS) Indian Navy's INS Sumedha arrived at Port Alexandria, Egypt to participate in ‘Exercise BRIGHT STAR- 23’.

This edition of the multinational Tri-Services military exercise will see participation from 34 countries. It is the largest ever joint military exercise in the Middle East and North Africa region, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) informed on Thursday.

The ministry said that the exercise is scheduled to be conducted in two phases. The Harbour Phase involves wide-ranging activities such as cross-deck visits, professional exchanges, sports fixtures and interactions for planning and conduct of the Sea Phase.

The Sea Phase will include complex and high intensity exercises encompassing cross deck flying, anti-surface and anti-air exercises, including live weapon firing drills. The exercise provides an opportunity to the Indian Navy to enhance and demonstrate interoperability and also gain from the best practices in maritime security operations from its partner nations, the MoD official added.

According to the ministry, this is the maiden participation of the Indian Navy in Ex Bright Star, which will also see participation of Naval ships from other friendly foreign Navies. The exercises will span over two weeks with intense operations and training, aimed at reaffirming the ability of the participating navies to operate together as an integrated force and to highlight their shared commitment to maritime security and global stability through collaborative training and mutual understanding, they added.

INS Sumedha, commanded by Commander M.C. Chandeep, is the third ship of the indigenously built Saryu class Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPV) that possess long endurance, and are fitted with requisite weapons, sensors, and capable of embarking an integral helicopter.

The MoD said that a highly potent platform that can be deployed for a variety of operational missions, INS Sumedha bears testimony to the capabilities of the Indian shipbuilding industry which underscores the vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.