CSG conducted air and maritime cooperation exercises with the Indian Navy
INN/Goa/Kochi , @Infodeaofficial
After making stops in Goa and Kochi on the western coast of India, the entire French carrier strike group (CSG), led by aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle, sailed for the next phase of Mission CLEMENCEAU 25 in the Indian Ocean on January 9, 2025. In order to perform exercise LA PEROUSE, it set off for the Indonesian arc.
The CSG conducted air and maritime cooperation exercises with the Indian Navy a few hours after embarking. The Indian frigate INS Mormugao and the French CSG destroyer practiced tactical evolution maneuvers during a cooperative navigation exercise. To execute a cross-decks maneuver, the two ships also activated their corresponding onboard helicopters.
Following the initial exercise, the INS Mormugao frigate was refueled at sea by the fleet replenishment tanker FNS Jacques Chevallier. Simultaneously, Indian Sukhoi and Jaguar fighter jets conducted coordinated anti-aircraft drills with Rafale Marines from the French Navy air fleet that had embarked.
An Atlantique 2 maritime patrol plane stopped in India on January 10th for logistical purposes before continuing on to Indonesia, where it joined the French force that had been sent. Because of the special relationship between France and India, the CSG was able to deploy far from its base and continue operations at sea when the in-transit Atlantique 2 was stopped on Indian soil.
The great degree of cooperation between the two fleets was once again shown by these activities. This coordinated maneuver preceded the 42nd iteration of VARUNA, a bilateral naval exercise that France and India have been conducting since 1983. When CSG comes to the Indian Ocean as part of Mission CLEMENCEAU 25, it will participate in this yearly bilateral exercise and deploy all of its resources alongside its Indian partner.
A strategic alliance between France and India has been in place for 27 years with the goal of fostering bilateral collaboration between the two nations. Concretely speaking, this involves a variety of exercises, whether they are conducted at sea (VARUNA), on land (SHAKTI), or in the air (GARUDA). India frequently assists French Navy vessels by permitting a large number of ship and crew rest stops (16 stopovers since 2022).