November 2020

Indian naval dockyard refits Maldivian vessel

Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam completed the refit of Maldivian Coast Guard Ship MNDF CGS Huravee. Rear Admiral Sreekumar Nair, Admiral Superintendent handed over the ship to the Commanding Officer Major Hussain Rasheed at  Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, 25 Nov 20. Colonel Ahmed Thohir, Defence Advisor of Maldives to India, attended the ceremony wherein he conveyed the satisfaction of the Maldives Government and also read a message from the Minister of Defence, Govt.

Bundeswehr orders 31 NH90 choppers

The German Bundeswehr has ordered 31 NH90 NFH helicopters, to be known as Sea Tiger, for the German Navy’s shipborne operations. Nathalie Tarnaud-Laude, President of NH90 Helicopter Industries (NHI) and Giorgio Gomma, General Manager of the NATO Helicopter Management Agency (NAHEMA), on behalf of the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support of the German Armed Forces (BAAINBw) signed the contract on 26 November. The helicopters will replace the German Navy’s Sea Lynx Mk88A fleet which entered into service in 1981.

GRIFFON command post qualified

On 13 November 2020, the French Delegation for Armaments (DGA) qualified the command post vehicle (EPC) variant of the GRIFFON vehicle. At the same time, the first examples are being submitted for acceptance by the DGA's quality department at the Roanne site. Therefore, the three first GRIFFON EPC have been delivered to the Army technical section (STAT) which will continue the operational evaluation of this equipment with its rapid deployment within the regiments in sight.

Indian Navy to host SIMBEX-20

Indian Navy (IN) is scheduled to host the 27th edition of India - Singapore Bilateral Maritime Exercise SIMBEX-20 from 23 to 25 November 2020 in Andaman Sea.

The SIMBEX series of exercises between IN and Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), being conducted annually since 1994, are aimed at enhancing mutual inter-operability and imbibing best practices from each other. The scope and complexity of these exercises has increased steadily over the past two decades to include advanced naval drills covering a wide spectrum of maritime operations.

Groundbreaking Malabar 2020 concludes

The 24th edition of MALABAR maritime exercise, hosted by Indian Navy (IN) in two phases, concluded in the Arabian Sea on 20 Nov 20.  Phase 1 of the exercise involving participation by Indian Navy (IN), United States Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN), was conducted off Visakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal from 3-6 November 2020.  The second phase was conducted in the Arabian S