The 10th Edition of the bilateral exercise between the Indian Navy and Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) started at Visakhapatnam. The Maritime exercise will conclude on December 16. The Primary aim of the exercise is to increase interoperability amongst the two navies, develop common understanding and procedures for maritime security operations. This Year's edition of exercise would be held in two phases, The Harbour phase would be held at Visakhapatnam from 9-12 December and the Sea phase would be held from 13-16 December in the bay of Bengal. Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Air Defence Drills, Surface firings, Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS) operations and tactical procedures will be the thrust of exercises at sea.

Indian Navy Ships (INS) Kolkata and Shakti carried out Group Sail with naval ships of Japan, Philippines and the United States of America in the South China Sea from May 03 to May 09, 2019. This week long military exercise had a participation of six combatants from the four participating countries - India, USA, Japan and Philippines. The ships undertook various exercises enroute which included formation manoeuvering, underway replenishment runs, cross-deck flying and exchange of Sea Riders. The Group Sail exercise with naval ships of Japan, Philippines and United States showcased India's commitment towards operating with like-minded nations to ensure safe maritime environment through enhanced interoperability.

Russia has successfully tested the world's first floating nuclear power plant (NPP), Akademik Lomonosov. Reactors of the floating atomic block were launched in November 2018. The tests confirmed the operational stability of the main and auxiliary equipment for the plant will be the world's first fully commercial operational floating nuclear power plant. All automatic process and control systems were tested successfully.Akademik Lomonosov was built at a shipyard in St.Petersburg since 2008 and was last summer towed around Scandinavia to Murmansk where the uranium fuel elements were loaded into the two reactors and testing now has been going on for nearly a year.

Africa-India Joint Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX-19) between the Indian Army and 16 African nations will be conducted in Pune from March 18 to 27. The joint exercise would be held at Pune's Foreign Training Node at Aundh Military Station and College of Military Engineering in Kirkee. Features of AFINDEX-19: 10 personnel, each from the participating nations from the African continent and personnel of Maratha Light Infantry of the Indian Army will participate in the joint exercise.

The Indian Navy's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Training Facility (NBCTF) was inaugurated at INS Shivaji by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba in Lonavala, Maharashtra. The NBCTF, christened 'Abhedya', Sanskrit for impenetrable, will help train personnel of naval ships fitted with nuclear, biological and chemical detection and protection systems. Admiral Lanba also launched the INS Shivaji's website on the Indian Navy portal and released the platinum jubilee logo, with the theme 'Propelling the Indian Navy since 1945'. INS Shivaji is celebrating its platinum jubilee in 2019-20.

The Indian Navy, in coordination with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and other stakeholders, conducted the massive coastal defence exercise codenamed 'SEA VIGIL-2019'off the Indian coast on January 22-23, 2019. The exercise, a first of its kind, covered the entire 7516.6 km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone of India and involves all the 13 coastal States and Union Territories along with all maritime stakeholders, including the fishing and coastal communities. The main goal of the large-scale exercise is to comprehensively and holistically validate the efficacy of the measures taken since '26/11'. The exercise also aims to test India's preparedness to thwart any attempt by anti-national elements to carry out an attack on its territory or against its citizens by infiltrating through the sea route.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test fired Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LR-SAM) from naval warship INS Chennai. The test was conducted off the coast of Odisha. The LR-SAM hit a low flying aerial target during the test.

The Defence Acquisitions Council, DAC chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman approved indigenous construction of six submarines worth 40 thousand crore rupees. It is the second project under the Ministry's ambitious strategic partnership model aiming to boost the government's Make in India' program. The first project to get the government's nod for implementation under the new model was the acquisition of 111 utility helicopters for the Navy at a cost of over 21 thousand crore rupees in August last year. DAC has also approved the acquisition of about five thousand MILAN Anti Tank Guided Missiles for the Army.

INS Trikand, the frontline warship of the Indian Navy, participated in a multi-national training exercise 'CUTCLASS EXPRESS 2019'. The annual Exercise Cutlass Express is sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) and conducted by Naval Forces Africa (NAVAF). It is the eighth iteration of the annual multinational maritime exercise and was held in the vicinity of Djibouti, Mozambique and Seychelles. The aim of the exercise was to improve law enforcement capacity, promote regional security and progress inter-operability between the armed forces of the participating nations for the purpose of prohibiting illegal maritime activity in the Western Indian Ocean.

Light combat helicopter (LCH),has successfully carried out air-to-air missile firing on a moving aerial target at the integrated test range in Chandipur on Odisha coast.This LCH is first in the country,which is designed and developed by Rotary Wing Research & Design Centre (RWRDC),Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The helicopter is equipped with helmet mounted sight and a forward looking infrared sighting system, allowing its pilots to detect and destroy any target on ground or in the air. Other weapons on the LCH include a 20mm Turret gun and 70 mm Rockets,that had completed the test last year.