India and Saudi Arabia are planning their first-ever naval drill as part of their expanding defence and military ties. The Indian Navy's guided-missile destroyer INS Kochi landed in Saudi Arabia on Monday for the 'Al-Mohed Al-Hindi 2021' exercise, accompanied by two integrated Sea King-42B helicopters.
The drill comes as tensions in the Gulf area rise following a drone assault on a commercial ship off the coast of Oman that killed a British person and a Romanian citizen a week ago. The UK and the US blamed Iran for the attack on the MV Mercer Street, which was run by an Israeli company. The accusations have been denied by Tehran.
The naval exercises comes after IAF head Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria visited the UAE and Israel earlier this month to strengthen bilateral military relations. In addition, the UAE has taken the lead among Gulf nations in “normalising” relations with Israel, a country with which India has strong defence cooperation.
Last week, INS Kochi participated in an exercise with the UAE Navy called "Zayed Talwar" off the coast of Abu Dhabi. The UAE had sent a Baynunah-class guided-missile corvette as well as helicopters for the August 7 drill, which featured tactical manoeuvres, over-the-horizon targeting, and electronic warfare activities.
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In December last year, Army Chief General M M Naravane visited the UAE and Saudi Arabia for the first time as part of the policy to strengthen military cooperation with the Gulf countries.
In addition, the UAE Air Force has been giving support to the IAF's new Rafale fighters on their nearly 7,000-kilometer trip from France to India through its Airbus MRTT refuelling aircraft.
In March this year, the IAF participated in a large multi-nation air combat exercise dubbed "Desert Flag" in the UAE, using Sukhoi-30MKI fighters and C-17 Globemaster-III aircraft. The exercise was also attended by air forces from the United States, France, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain.
India is also in talks with the UAE and Saudi Arabia about exporting BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles with a striking range of 290 kilometres and Akash air defence missiles with an interception range of 25 kilometres. Both nations are also interested in cooperative defence manufacturing partnerships with India.
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