India-Singapore joint naval drill concludes

This years exercise was the 24th iteration of the annual bilateral exercise held since 1994.

Singapore, May 25: The week-long mega maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy has come to a close.

The Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise 2017 that concluded on Wednesday also displayed the maiden participation of Singapores F-15SG fighter jets, Singapores Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

Hosted by Singapore, the exercise was held on land at the now renamed RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base and at a sea phase in the South China Sea.

The RSN deployed two frigates RSS Formidable, equipped with an S-70B naval helicopter, and RSS Supreme and a missile corvette RSS Victory, while the Indian Navy participated with two frigates INS Sahyadri and INS Shivalik, a corvette INS Kamorta, an oiler INS Jyoti, and a P8-I maritime patrol aircraft.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force also deployed two F-16D+ fighter aircrafts and a Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft for the exercise.

During the exercise, the two navies conducted a series of advanced naval warfare serials, including air defence exercises and gunnery live-firings, the defence ministry statement said.

The sea phase culminated in a mission-oriented surface action group exercise wherein assets and personnel from the two navies worked together to plan and execute a series of warfare missions, it said.

Over the years, SIMBEX has grown in scope and complexity, expanding beyond its traditional emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to incorporate elements of maritime security, anti-air and anti-surface warfare.

"SIMBEX has progressed both in scale and complexity over the years from a serial-based exercise to todays mission based exercise incorporating scenarios with threats from surface, underwater and air," the commanding officer of RSS Formidable, Lieutenant-Colonel Albert Khoo said.

Apart from SIMBEX, the two navies also interact regularly through professional exchange programmes, staff talks and training courses.

PTI