Indian Submarine Deploys to Australia for the first Time

Indian Navy’s fifth Scorpene-type submarine INS Vagir reached Fremantle, Australia this past weekend, marking a historic first.

“A warm welcome to the crew of the Indian Navy Submarine INS Vagir to Australia for the first time, providing Australian Navy a valuable opportunity to continue to build on our strong relationship with our Indian Navy partners,” Chief of Navy Australia Vice Admiral Mark Hammond stated on his official “X” account.

The submarine left for Australia in June. It was commissioned into the Indian Navy in January and is based in Mumbai.

INS Vagir will participate in various exercises with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) units on the West Coast of Australia. Concurrently, on the East coast of Australia, Indian warships and aircraft are involved in Exercise MALABAR-23 (August 11-21) and AUSINDEX-23 from (August 22-24). 

During the ongoing deployment, basic, intermediate and advanced-level anti-submarine exercises are scheduled. RAN submarine and Indian P8i maritime patrol aircraft will take part in the exercise with INS Vagir.