The India Korea naval exercise has ended with INS Sahyadri and the Republic of Korea Navy destroyer ROKS Munmu the Great completing coordinated navigation, helicopter operations and joint manoeuvres off Busan, the Indian Navy said on Tuesday.

This was the second India and Republic of Korea Navy (IN-RoKN) Bilateral Exercise.

India Korea naval exercise ends with helicopter and search and rescue drills

According to the Navy, the sea phase gave both crews practice in working together and a better understanding of each other's operating procedures.

The drills included cross-deck helicopter landings and search and rescue practice, the Embassy of India in Seoul said on Monday. INS Sahyadri then sailed for its next mission, the embassy added. The ships worked off the Busan coast, and the Navy said the exercise showed the resolve of both countries to deepen maritime cooperation.

Photographs from the sea phase show a Chetak helicopter flying close to the Korean destroyer, and crews lining the decks of both ships.

Harbour phase at Busan ran from 26 to 29 October

The exercise opened in harbour after the frigate reached Busan Naval Harbour on 26 October. Personnel of the two navies held professional discussions and operational briefings, visited each other's ships and took part in Subject Matter Expert Exchanges. The Navy said these meetings allowed both sides to share operational views and best practices.

Sports fixtures and cultural exchanges made up the rest of the programme.

On 28 October, India's Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Gourangalal Das, met the Commanding Officer of INS Sahyadri, Captain Vikas Jha, and the ship's officers. He also attended a reception on board with officers of the Korean Navy. The frigate sailed out the next day for the sea phase.

ROKS Munmu the Great served on anti-piracy duty in 2009

The Korean ship is a guided missile destroyer commissioned in 2004 and named after King Munmu of the Silla kingdom. It was sent overseas in 2009 to protect merchant vessels from Somali pirates.

First India Korea naval exercise was held at Busan in October 2025

This year's exercise used the same port and the same Indian ship as the first edition. INS Sahyadri reached Busan on 13 October 2025 for the inaugural exercise, which also had a harbour phase and a sea phase, with a Korean frigate joining at sea.

The navy exercise is one of several defence contacts between the two countries, according to the Embassy of India in Seoul. The India Korea Joint Committee on defence industries and logistics held its tenth meeting in New Delhi in September. The Indian Coast Guard and the Korea Coast Guard met at Incheon in October for their 14th High Level Meeting.

Sahyadri reached Korea from Exercise INDRA in Vladivostok

The India Korea naval exercise closes a run of overseas exercises for the frigate. In late September, it joined the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise, AIME-2026, at Subic Bay in the Philippines. It then sailed to Russia and left Vladivostok on 20 October after Exercise INDRA 2026 concluded, before arriving at Busan six days later.

INS Sahyadri is the third ship of the Shivalik class of guided missile stealth frigates. It was designed and built in India by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai and commissioned in 2012, and it serves with the Eastern Fleet from Visakhapatnam.