Singapore vy ship reaches Vishakhapatm for joint exercise

New Delhi, Oct 30: A Singapore vy ship reached Vishakhapatm on

Sunday to participate in the India–Singapore joint val exercise, said

an official statement. RSS Formidable, a multi–role stealth frigate

commanded by Lt. Col. Khoo Aik Leong Albert, will participate in the

Singapore–India Maritime Bilateral Exercises ‘SIMBEX–16’.

A senior Singapore vy delegation headed by Col. Aaron Beng, who

commands the 185 Squadron, is also visiting Vishakhapatm–headquartered

Eastern val Command (ENC) during the period, said the Defence

Ministry statement.

During the visit, the seniors Singaporean vy commanders will call

on ENC’s commander–in–chief, Vice Admiral H.C.S. Bisht and Eastern Fleet

commander, Rear Admiral A.B. Dasgupta. In the exercise, Indian vy

will be represented by guided missile destroyer INS Ranvijay, indigenous

anti–submarine warfare stealth corvette INS Kamorta, a Sindhugosh class

submarine, along with number of maritime patrol aircraft and

helicopters.

A Fokker 50 maritime patrol aircraft of the Singapore vy will be

operating from Port Blair. The SIMBEX series was first formalized when

Singaporean vy ships began training with the Indian vy in 1994.

Simbex–16, being held in the Bay of Bengal region, is 23rd in the

series and is aimed to increase interoperability and to develop common

understanding and procedures for maritime security operations. The

thrust of exercises at sea this year would be on anti–submarine warfare,

integrated operations with surface, air and sub–surface forces, air

defence and surface encounters. (IANS)