The first part of the Indo-French joint naval exercise, Varuna 19.1 will be held in __________.

India successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable long-range ballistic missile Agni-IV, with a strike range of 4,000 km, as part of a user trial by the Army. The strategic surface-to-surface Agni-IV missile was flight tested from launch complex-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Dr Abdul Kalam Island, earlier known as Wheeler Island. This was the 7th trial of Agni-IV missile. The last trial conducted by the strategic force command (SFC) of the Indian Army from the same base on January 2, 2018 was successful.

Indian Coast Guard vessel Veera commissioned by General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff in the presence of Director General of Indian Coast Guard Rajendra Singh, Chief of Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Karambir Singh and other senior dignitaries of the central and state government in a ceremony organised at Eastern Naval Command in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Veera, the third in the series of the new generation Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) is under the administrative and operational command of the coast guard regional headquarters. This is indigenously designed and built by Larsen & Toubro Ltd. at its shipbuilding facility at Kattupali in Chennai. The 98 meters long, 15-metre wide patrol vessel has a 3.6-metre draft and a range of 5,000 nautical miles.

The debrief of the Indian Navy exercise termed as 'Sea Vigil' (held from January 22 to 23) was conducted. The meeting was chaired by Vice Admiral MS Pawar, AVSM, VSM, the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS). It was conducted at the Naval headquarters, New Delhi. After the 26/11 Mumbai attack in 2008, Sea Vigil became the very 1st national-level coastal defence exercise conducted by the Indian Navy. In this exercise, it involved naval stakeholders at the centre and all 13 coastal states and union territories.The meeting was conducted for the National Committee for Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security (NCSMCS).

Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba commissioned the new Naval Air Base 'INS Kohassa' in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 24 January 2019. The airbase will be used to handle operations of helicopters and small aircraft like the Dornier. INS Kohassa will be India's fourth air base and the third naval air facility in the Andamans that overlooks key sea lanes of communication and strategic points.

India test-fired Helina, a helicopter-launched version of the Nag anti-tank guided missile, with a hit range of 7-8 km, from the Odisha Coast. Helina was launched from an Army chopper and the weapon system was tested for its full range at 12:55 PM near the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur in the Balasore District of Odisha.Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Helina is said to be one of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world. It is guided by an Infrared Imaging Seeker (IIR)operating in the lock-on-before-launch mode.

INS Ranjit, a Rajput class front-line missile destroyer, was decommissioned at a ceremony at Naval Dockyard at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, after having served the Indian Navy for 36 years. On the sunset of May 6, 2019, the National Flag, Naval Ensign and Commissioning Pennant onboard the INS Ranjit were lowered for one last time, indicating the end of the Ranjit era in the Indian Navy.

The Indian Navy held the 2nd edition of the bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and Vietnam Peoples' Navy, (IN - VPN BILAT EX) at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam during 13th to 16th April, 2019. The exercise was undertaken as a part of the ongoing Overseas Deployment of Eastern Fleet ships to South East Asian countries. INS Kolkata under the command of Captain Aditya Hara and INS Shakti under the command of Captain Sriram Amur participated in the exercise.

To counter growing Chinese footprint in Indian ocean region, the Indian Navy has initiated the process to acquire six lethal submarines under the ambitious Project-75 India (I). The project would cost Rs 50,000 crore. Under Project 75-India, the Navy wants to build six conventional diesel-electric submarines which would be almost 50% bigger than the under-construction Scorpene class submarines being built at the Mazagon Dockyards Limited in Mumbai. As per the requirements stated by the maritime force, it wants the submarines to be equipped with heavy-duty firepower as it wants the boats to have at least 12 Land Attack Cruise Missiles (LACM) along with Anti-Ship cruise missiles (ASCM).

Under Project 75-India, the Navy wants to build six conventional diesel-electric submarines which would be almost 50 per cent bigger than the under-construction Scorpene class submarines being built at the Mazagon Dockyards Limited in Mumbai. The submarines should have the ability to carry and launch 18 heavyweight torpedoes in the sea. For the Indian Navy, the Project 75I-class submarine is a follow-on of the Project 75 Kalvari-class submarines. The submarines will be equipped with heavy-duty firepower as it wants the boats to have at least 12 Land Attack Cruise Missiles (LACM) along with Anti-Ship cruise missiles (ASCM).

Chinese Navy commissioned two new Type 052D guided missile destroyers in Dalian, a coastal city. They are the 19th and 20th ships in the class and are named as Tangshan and Suzhou. China, at present 20 Type 052Ds either in active service or to be launched for service soon. The destroyers are fast and warships are operated for long distances. It is used to accompany the aircraft carriers. The newly developed Type 052D destroyers are the upgrades of its previous version Type 052C.