INS Tarkash IBSAMAR IX deployment has taken the Indian Navy frigate to South Africa. The guided missile stealth frigate will join warships of the Brazilian and South African Navies for the ninth edition of the India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime Exercise.

The trilateral exercise has run every two years since 2008 under the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) framework, with interoperability and maritime cooperation as its stated aims.

South Africa fields four vessels including a submarine

The South African Navy is putting the largest group to sea. SAS Amatola, SAS King Sekhukhune I and SAS Adam Kok III will take part, along with the submarine SAS Manthatisi.

Brazil has sent one ship.

BNS Barroso of the Brazilian Navy is embarked with one integral Lynx helicopter. INS Tarkash carries one integral Chetak helicopter. Between them, the three navies will have a frigate-heavy surface group, two helicopters and an attack submarine to work with, which gives the anti-submarine serials a real boat to hunt. SAS Amatola is a Valour class frigate, and SAS Manthatisi is a German-built Type 209 diesel-electric submarine.

INS Tarkash IBSAMAR IX marks the frigate's third edition

This is not the first time Tarkash has sailed for IBSAMAR. She took part in the sixth edition at Simon's Town in October 2018 alongside INS Kolkata, and returned for IBSAMAR VII at Gqeberha in October 2022, when the Navy announced her arrival in South Africa.

A Talwar class frigate built in Russia, Tarkash was commissioned in 2012 and serves with the Western Fleet in Mumbai. In June she completed a port call in Mauritius.

Drills cover surface, air and underwater warfare

The programme spans most of what a modern navy does at sea. Crews will practise surface warfare, anti-air warfare and anti-submarine warfare, along with naval air operations using the embarked helicopters. Search and rescue drills are planned. So are damage control and firefighting, the skills that keep a ship afloat after it is hit.

Officers and sailors of the three navies will also hold professional interactions.

Boarding and anti-piracy drills included

Boarding teams will rehearse maritime interdiction and Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS), used to stop and inspect a suspect vessel. Anti-piracy drills are planned too.

Theme focuses on shared maritime security in the Indian Ocean

The theme of IBSAMAR IX is Stronger Together Towards a Shared Future in the Maritime Domain. The edition is focused on maritime cooperation and security in the Indian Ocean Region and on collective preparedness.

The INS Tarkash IBSAMAR IX deployment comes during a busy spell for Indian warships abroad. INS Trishul is at Plymouth for Exercise Konkan 2026 with the Royal Navy, while the Sri Lanka Navy was at Visakhapatnam for SLINEX-26 last month.

IBSAMAR VIII was held at Simon's Town in October 2024, with INS Talwar sailing alongside Brazil's BNS Defensora and South Africa's SAS Amatola.