Indian Naval Ship Pralaya arrived in Abu Dhabi, UAE today to participate in the NAVDEX 21 (Naval Defence Exhibition) and IDEX 21 (International Defence Exhibition), scheduled from February 20-25. Participation of an Indian Navy Ship not only highlights close relations and growing defence partnership between India and UAE but also strengthens India's extended neighbourhood policy.
The UAE Air Force had also done mid-air refueling of India's Rafale fighter jets on their non-stop flight from France to Ambala last month.
Defence relations between India and UAE have been steadily growing since the upgradation of bilateral relations to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ during the visit of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in January 2017 as chief guest at Republic Day celebrations.
Towards enhancing interactions between the two navies, inaugural edition of India–UAE Navy bilateral exercise GULF STAR-1 was conducted in March 2018. The next edition of the exercise is likely to be conducted this year. In addition, Indian Navy ships have been making regular port calls at UAE for promoting maritime cooperation. INS Mysore, an indigenously built guided missile destroyer, mission deployed in the region, is also making a port call at Abu Dhabi, UAE from February 19 to 22.
Deployment of Indian Navy ships to Abu Dhabi, UAE underscores deep-rooted friendly ties and multi-faceted cooperation between India and UAE, and will further strengthen defence cooperation between the two countries.
Participation of INS Pralaya in NAVDEX 21 and IDEX 21, one of the leading international naval and defence exhibitions of the region, is aimed at showcasing the strengths of India’s indigenous ship building, in line with Prime Minister’s vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat.
INS Pralaya, the second ship of the indigenously built Prabal Class Missile Vessels, was commissioned in the Indian Navy on December 18, 2002. The 56 m long ship, displacing about 560 T is capable of speeds in excess of 35 knots and is fitted with an impressive array of weapons and sensors. These include a 76.2 mm medium range gun, 30 mm close range guns, chaff launchers and long range surface to surface missiles.
The ship, built indigenously at Goa Shipyard Limited, bears testimony to capabilities of the Indian ship building industry and is a versatile platform capable of performing a wide variety of surface warfare missions.
