Exercise Varuna 2025 [fr]

The French Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is participating in the annual bilateral VARUNA exercise from March 19 to 22, 2025. This air and sea exercise, under the command of the French Armed Forces deployed in the Indian Ocean (ALINDIEN), aims to strengthen interoperability between the Indian and French navies and to prepare crews to face multi-environment threats, whether from the air, the surface, or underwater.

VARUNA symbolizes the lasting military cooperation between France and India, which have been linked by a strategic partnership for nearly 30 years. It is part of a series of bilateral training exercises on land (SHAKTI), in the air (GARUDA), and at sea (VARUNA).

An exercise with high-end assets

The French vessels deployed in the CSG, based around the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, will be conducting numerous exercises to develop their interoperability with the Indian Carrier Strike Group based around the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.

French Armed Forces are committed to a free, open and stable Indo-Pacific area

Since November 2024, France has been deploying its CSG as part of the CLEMENCEAU 25 mission, in order to strengthen ties with its partners in the Indo-Pacific. After conducting air and naval exercises with Indian forces following the stopovers of French ships in Goa and Kochi in January, cooperation between the two countries continues as part of the CSG’s return in the Indian Ocean.

As a resident nation of the Indian Ocean, France is committed to working alongside its partners in the area to ensure a free, open and stable Indo-Pacific, notably through the presence of French forces in the United Arab Emirates (FFEAU) and the French Armed Forces in the Southern Indian Ocean (FAZSOI). Illustrating France’s commitment to the region, the French armed forces regularly deploy high added value resources, of which the deployment of the CSG is the embodiment.