INS Tabar conducts military exercise with Italian Navy

Indian Naval Ship (INS) Tabar recently participated in military exercises with frontline frigate of Italian Navy.

Key Points

• INS Tabar joined Italian Navy and entered Port of Naples on July 3 as part of ongoing deployment in Mediterranean.
• Commanding officer Captain Mahesh Mangipudi called on senior officers of Prefect of Naples Authority, regional Italian navy headquarters and coast guard headquarters during the stay.
• While returning, Tabar also undertook a Maritime Partnership Exercise with ITS Antonio Marceglia in Tyrrhenian Sea on July 4 & 5.
• This exercise covered several naval operations such as air defence procedures, communication drills, replenishment at sea, and cross deck helo operations by day and night.
• Exercise was mutually beneficial for enhancing interoperability and consolidating combined operations against maritime threats.

INS Tabar

It is the third of Talwar-class frigate in Indian Navy. It was commissioned on April 19, 2004 in Kaliningrad, Russia. It is a vessel in Talwar class and is armed with supersonic BrahMos anti-ship cruise missiles. It is also equipped with Barak 1 missiles. Captain Manav Sehgal is the current Commanding Officer (CO) of Tabar.  Vessel is assigned to Indian Navy’s Western Naval Command which is headquartered in Mumbai. It is a well-equipped warship which can easily handle air, surface, and sub-surface missions. It can also defend herself operating either independently on maritime missions or by supporting larger naval task force. Its surface-to-air weapons systems include one single-rail MS-196 launcher. Launcher has the capability to launch long range Shtil-1 surface-to-air missile. It also carry eight Igla-1E portable air defence missiles for short-range threats.