Bilateral Maritime Exercise –Ayutthaya

Recently, the maiden Bilateral Maritime Exercise -Ayutthaya’ between the Indian Navy (IN) and Royal Thai Navy (RTN) was conducted.

Exercise Ayutthaya

The IndIa-Thailand Bilateral Exercise is being named as ‘Ex-Ayutthaya’, which literally translates to ‘The Invincible One’ or ‘Undefeatable’.It symbolises the significance of two of the oldest cities Ayodhya in India and Ayutthaya in Thailand, the historic legacies, rich cultural ties and shared historical narratives dating back to several centuries.

• Indigenously built Indian Naval ships Kulish and IN LCU 56 participated in the inaugural edition of the exercise.
• With the institution of a Bilateral Exercise, both navies have taken a step towards strengthening operational synergy and progressively increasing the exercise complexity.
• During the maiden edition of the exercise, participating units from both navies conducted surface and anti-air exercises including weapon firing, seamanship evolutions and tactical manoeuvres.
• The 36th edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) was also conducted along with the maiden bilateral exercise.
• Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both navies participated in the Sea Phase of the exercise.
• As part of Government of India's vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region), the Indian Navy has been proactively engaging with countries in the Indian Ocean Region towards enhancing regional maritime security.
• The Indian Navy and Royal Thai Navy have maintained a close and friendly relationship which has strengthened over the years.

INS Kulish?

It is a Kora-class corvette, currently in active service with the Indian Navy. She was ordered in October 1994 and the keel was laid in October 1995. The ship was launched in August 1997 and was commissioned on 20 August 2001. Kulish is the third of the four Kora-class corvettes designed under Project25A.