The Varuna 2026 sea phase saw INS Trishul exercise with the French frigates Forbin and La Fayette, the nuclear attack submarine Suffren, NH90 helicopters and Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft, after a harbour phase at Toulon.

Varuna 2026 sea phase: anti-submarine, surface and live-firing drills

Anti-submarine and anti-surface exercises ran alongside live firing. Helicopters from the two navies also flew cross-deck landings.

Ships and aircraft involved

Forbin is an air defence frigate and La Fayette a light stealth frigate of the French Navy, while Suffren is a nuclear attack submarine. The NH90 helicopters and Atlantique 2 aircraft took part alongside them.

Toulon harbour phase: reception, calls and cross-deck visits

INS Trishul reached Toulon on 22 September for the 24th edition of Varuna, the annual exercise between the Indian Navy and the French Navy. A ceremonial water cannon salute greeted the ship, and the harbour programme ran ahead of the Varuna 2026 sea phase.

The Commanding Officer called on Rear Admiral Mackara Ouk, Deputy Commander-in-Chief for Operations (CECMED), and met other senior French Navy officers. Cross-deck visits and an exchange of operational experience followed, with the Indian crew touring the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and the frigates Forbin and La Fayette to see carrier operations, aviation facilities and onboard practices.

Onboard INS Trishul, a cultural interaction drew Vice Admiral (Retd) Laurent Isnard, Deputy Mayor of Toulon, French Navy officers and civil dignitaries. The two crews also played a volleyball match.

Wreath at Mazargues War Memorial, Marseille

The Commanding Officer, officers and crew laid a wreath at the Mazargues War Memorial in Marseille in remembrance of 205 Indian soldiers who died in the World Wars. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists 205 Indian First World War casualties on the cemetery's Indian Memorial, and calls Mazargues the second largest site commemorating Indian soldiers and labourers after Neuve-Chapelle in northern France.

French deployments in India

The French frigate Languedoc completed a four-day port call at Mormugao in Goa in early September, with Varuna near Toulon named as the next meeting of the two navies. A French Air and Space Force contingent has since arrived at Jodhpur for Tarang Shakti 2026 with four Rafale F4 fighters.

INS Trishul is a Talwar class stealth frigate of the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy, commissioned in 2003.