NEW DELHI (PTI): Three Russian naval ships have arrived in Visakhapatnam to participate in the bilateral maritime exercise with their Indian counterparts aimed at increasing inter-operability amongst the two navies.

The 10th edition of exercise INDRA NAVY will be conducted off Visakhapatnam from December 9-16, an official statement said.

Initiated in 2003, INDRA NAVY exercise has matured over the years with increase in scope, complexity and level of participation, the statement said.

Russian Federation Navy ships Varyag, Admiral Panteleyev and Boris Butoma have arrived in Visakhapatnam.

This edition of the exercise would be held in two phases. The first would be the Harbour Phase, held at Visakhapatnam from December 9-12, that would encompass planning conferences, professional interactions, cultural visits, sports fixtures and formal calls between flag officers and senior officers of participating navies.

The sea phase will be held from December 13-16 and would be conducted in the Bay of Bengal.

The thrust of exercises at sea would be on anti-submarine warfare (ASW), air defence drills, surface firings, visit board search and seizure (VBSS) operations and tactical procedures.

During exercise, the Indian Navy would be represented by INS Ranvir, a guided missile destroyer, INS Satpura, an indigenous frigate, INS Kadmatt, an indigenous anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette, IN Ships Kuthar and Khanjar both indigenous missile corvettes and INS Jyoti, a fleet tanker.