Indian Naval Ships Tir and Shardul along with Indian Coast Guard Ship Veera of the First Training Squadron (1TS) concluded visit to Muscat, Oman on 09 Oct 24. During the four day visit, the Indian Navy engaged with Royal Navy of Oman on various fronts, forging deeper bonds and strengthening the Bridges of Friendship between two maritime nations.

As part of the ongoing harbour activities during the Multilateral Maritime Exercise Malabar 2024, participating navies - India, Australia, Japan, and the United States - have been actively engaged in various collaborative events since 09 Oct 24, at Visakhapatnam, coordinated by the Eastern Naval Command. These activities include Key Leadership Engagement (KLE), Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE), cross-deck visits, sports fixtures, and pre-sailing discussions, all aimed at enhancing maritime cooperation, building camaraderie, and fostering operational synergy.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, on October 12, 2024, virtually dedicated to the nation 75 infrastructure projects of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at a cost of Rs 2,236 crore. These projects - 22 roads, 51 bridges & two others - are spread across 11 States/Union Territories. Nineteen (19) are in Jammu & Kashmir, 18 in Arunachal Pradesh, 11 in Ladakh, nine in Uttarakhand, six in Sikkim, five in Himachal Pradesh, two each in West Bengal & Rajasthan and one each in Nagaland, Mizoram and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Raksha Mantri inaugurated the projects from the Headquarters, Trishakti Corps in Sukna, West Bengal. One of the main highlights was the inauguration of the Kupup-Sherathang Road in Sikkim which serves as a crucial link between Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg and Zuluk axis.

INS Tir & ICGS Veera of First Training Squadron (1TS) arrived at the Port of Manama, Bahrain on 12 Oct 24. Aimed at enhancing Naval cooperation and augmenting interoperability, Indian Navy is set to engage with the Royal Bahrain Naval Forces (RBNF) on various domains of maritime ops and best shared practices. Professional interactions, cross ship visits, joint training sessions, yoga sessions, band concerts, friendly sports fixtures, social interactions and community welfare activities are planned during the port call. The sea trainees of Indian Navy will be visiting various training facilities and establishments of RBNF.

A coordination meeting between the operational teams of both the Navies towards planning and conduct of a Maritime Partnership Exercise is also scheduled.

In another port visit, INS Shardul of 1TS entered Port Rashid, Dubai at UAE.

The first ship of the two Multi Purpose Vessel project, being built by L&T, Shipyard for the Indian Navy, was launched on 14 Oct 24 at L&T, Kattupalli. In keeping with the maritime traditions, the ship was launched by Mrs Shashi Tripathi President NWWA. The ceremony was presided over by Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff. The ship has been named ‘ Samarthak ’ which means ‘ Supporter’ and is synonymous to the muti-dimensional role envisaged from the platform.

The contract for building two Multi Purpose Vessel was signed between the Ministry of Defence and L&T Shipyard on 25 Mar 22. These Multi Purpose Vessels will be capable of towing ships, launch and recover various targets, operate uncrewed autonomous vehicles and act as a trial platform for various indigenous weapons and sensors under development. The Multi Purpose Vessels can achieve a maximum speed of 15 knots and are 106 m long and 16.8 wide.