SIMBEX 23: Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX 23) will be hosted by Singapore this year. For this, Indian Naval ships INS Ranvijay, INS Kavaratti and submarine INS Sindhukesari arrived in Singapore on Wednesday (September 20) to participate in the 30th edition of the SIMBEX 23. The SIMBEX series of exercises between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) have been conducted annually since 1994 and they are aimed at enhancing mutual interoperability and imbibing best practices from each other.
SIMBEX holds the distinction of being the longest continuous naval exercise that Indian Navy has with any other country.
“SIMBEX-2023 is being conducted in two phases – Harbour Phase at Singapore from 21 to 24 September 2023, followed by a Sea Phase. Besides Ranvijay, Kavaratti and Sindhukesari, Long-Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft P8I is also participating in the exercise,” an official statement read.
The Harbour Phase will witness a wide range of professional interactions, cross-deck visits, Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEE) and sports fixtures, aimed at enhancing interoperability and mutual understanding between the two navies, the statement added.
“The Sea Phase of SIMBEX 23 will involve complex and advanced air defence exercises, gunnery firings, tactical manoeuvres, anti-submarine exercises and other maritime operations. Units of both the navies will endeavour to hone their war-fighting skills while consolidating their capability to undertake multi-discipline operations jointly in the maritime domain,” the statement read.