Indian, Indonesian Navies conduct exercise off Arabian Sea

Kochi: The Indian and Indonesian Navies conducted Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the southern Arabian sea on Saturday, the Southern Naval Command said.

The Indian Navy was represented by INS Sharda, an Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) with a Chetak helicopter embarked onboard and the Indonesian Navy was represented by KRI Sultan Hasanudin, a 90m corvette, a press release from the Southern Naval Command said.

The exercise, aimed at improving interoperability and understanding between both the friendly navies, is regularly conducted by the Indian Navy with units of friendly foreign countries.

The last PASSEX between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy was conducted on March 13 between INS Kalpeni, IN Dornier, and KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda.