INDRA 2005: From Sea to the Desert
Vijay Sakhuja
Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi
On September 20, 2005, a squadron of five warships and one nuclear submarine of the Russian Pacific Fleet sailed for the Indian Ocean. The squadron is programmed to carry out joint exercises code named INDRA 2005 from October 7 to 19 with the Indian naval fleet. The squadron includes the flagship missile cruiser Varyag, anti-submarine ships Admiral Tributs and Admiral Panteleyev, ocean tanker Pechenega and a tugboat Kalar. A nuclear submarine of Project 09710 â??Samaraâ?? class, pennant number K-295 from Kamchatka will later join the squadron at sea.
Vice Admiral Sergei Abramenko, Deputy Commander Pacific Fleet who is leading the forces has stated that exercises with the Indian navy will involve firing antisubmarine missiles "Volcano", missile- torpedoes "Socket", anti-aircraft missiles "Fort", "Wasp-M" and the "Dagger." Knowledgeable sources believe the nuclear submarine will demonstrate its capability. The submarine has an extremely low-noise power plant and its hull is made of low-magnetic steel. Currently two submarines of this class are under construction in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Apparently, one of these submarines named â??Nerpaâ?? (Seal) is already in the water and its nuclear reactor has been started while the second is 70 percent ready. These could be offered to the Indian Navy.
The exercises would also include operations relating to maintaining maritime order at sea (counter piracy, counter terrorism, anti gun running and drug smuggling). Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov is expected to be personally present to observe the joint naval exercises. On completion of the exercises, these ships will call at ports in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
The air-ground component of INDRA 2005 will be held in the desert areas of Rajasthan. This part of the exercise is aimed at counter terrorism and will involve a company each from Russia's 76th Airborne Division and the Indian 50th Airborne Brigade. Col-General Alexander Kolmakov, Commander Russian Air Force, has stated that the anti-terrorist exercises are expected to simulate an operation in which troops from both the Airborne Divisions would land from the air and destroy a ''token base of terrorists'' on land.
The naval exercises with the Indian Navy are aimed to strengthen cooperation, trust and mutual understanding between two naval powers and contribute to regional stability. At the same time, Russia has watched with great interest the developments in Afghanistan (2001-02) and Iraq (2003) where several navies from UK, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, the UAE, Australia and Japan participated in the US led war against terrorism. Of particular interest to the Russians were the deployments by the Royal Navy, French naval task group and Japanese logistic vessels. The Russians realize the creeping reach of these forces and believe that it would not be long before these navies begin permanent deployment in the Indian Ocean.
The end of the Cold War resulted in a decline, rather a near total absence of the Russian naval presence in the Indian Ocean. It took almost a decade for the Russian Navy to visit the Indian Ocean in 2001. A small but a powerful contingent of naval ships comprising anti-submarine ships Admiral Vinogradov and Admiral Pantellev, escorted by the tanker Vladimir Kilechitsky paid a visit to Mumbai that year.
In April 2003, nine warships of the Russian Federation navy set sail from Sevastopol in the Black Sea and Pacific naval bases for the Indian Ocean. The ships did not enter the Persian Gulf setting aside speculation that Moscow may be attempting to pressurize the US-led coalition attack on Iraq. The Russian naval detachments engaged in a number of exercises with the Indian Navy. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov had made the proposal for joint naval exercises in 2002 and New Delhi had agreed to the offer.
The current deployment further reinforces the commonality of Russian and India interests in the Indian Ocean. INDRA 2005 also provides an opportunity for both militaries, particularly the navy, to test out interoperability, notwithstanding the fact that there is a strong commonality in equipment exploitation doctrines. The exercises will also showcase Russian military hardware and will provide an opportunity to the Indian Navy to further assess the efficacy of weapons such as antisubmarine missiles, missile-torpedoes and modern anti-aircraft missiles as also the Project 09710 â??Samaraâ?? class submarine.
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