Indian Naval Ship (INS) Pralaya arrived at Abu Dhabi, UAE on Friday, 19 Feb 2021 to participate in the NAVDEX 21 (Naval Defence Exhibition) and IDEX 21 (International Defence Exhibition), scheduled from 20 to 25 February 2021.
INS Pralaya, the second ship of the indigenously built Prabal-class missile vessels, was commissioned in the Indian Navy on 18 December 2002. The 56 metre-long ship, displacing about 560 tonnes can touch 35 knots. It is fitted with an impressive array of weapons and sensors including a 76.2 mm medium range gun, 30 mm close range guns, chaff launchers and long range surface to surface missiles. The ship was built indigenously at Goa Shipyard Limited.
The participation of INS Pralaya in NAVDEX 21 and IDEX 21 is aimed at showcasing the strengths of India’s indigenous ship building. In addition, participation of an Indian Navy Ship in this exhibition highlights the growing relations between India and UAE.
Defence relations between India and UAE have grown steadily since bilateral relations were upgraded to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” during the visit of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in January 2017, as Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations.
Towards enhancing interactions between the two navies, the inaugural edition of a bilateral exercise GULF STAR-1, involving the Indian and Emirati navies was conducted in March 2018. The next edition of the exercise is likely to be conducted in 2021. In addition, Indian Navy ships have been making regular port calls at UAE. INS Mysore, an indigenously built guided missile destroyer, is also making a port call at Abu Dhabi, UAE from 19 to 22 Feb 21.
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