MOSCOW. July 21 (Interfax) - The results of the joint Russian-Indian INDRA 2014 naval exercise were summarized at a meeting of Russian and Indian military chiefs, who supervised the drills, last Saturday.
"The summary of the outcomes of the joint INDRA-2014 naval exercise took place at the Peter the Great Gulf on board the Pacific Fleet's flagship, the guided-missile cruiser Varyag. The meeting was attended by the exercise leaders: the Commander of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet Rear Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, the deputy commander of the Pacific Fleet Andrei Ryabukhin and the commanders of the warships which participated in the exercise," Eastern Military District (EMD) spokesman 1st Captain Roman Martov told Interfax on Saturday.
In summarizing the outcomes of the joint maneuvers, Rear Admiral Ryabukhin said that all the tasks were executed by the Russian and Indian sailors in full, Martov said. Ryabukhin also said that mutual understanding and trust between the two countries' navies has reached a very high level.
For his part, Rear Admiral Jain said that Indian sailors gained very good experience during this exercise and are going back in a positive mood. Besides, the Indian admiral praised the Russian crews for their skills and professionalism.
The active phase of the INDRA-2014 exercise was held in the Sea of Japan on July 17-19. The Russian and Indian squadrons of ships conducted several types of artillery firing against maritime and aerial targets. To destroy a mock submarine, the ships used antisubmarine rocket launchers; they also practiced minefield-breaching skills, destroyed floating mines and repelled an aerial attack, the EMD spokesman recalled.
While out in the sea, sailors conducted a mock inspection of a rogue vessel, as well as rescue and anti-sabotage operations, Martov said. He said that during the sea maneuvers the ships sailed around 400 nautical miles and conducted about ten combat drills.
The joint exercise involved more than ten warships and support vessels on both sides, as well as naval helicopters and aircraft of the Pacific Fleet and Indian Navy.