Exercise Varuna is the annual bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the French Navy, and one of India’s oldest naval drills with a foreign partner. The 2026 edition was the 24th, with INS Trishul representing India at Toulon, France.

The exercise has a harbour phase and a sea phase. The harbour phase includes professional exchanges, cross-deck visits and cultural engagements. In 2026, Trishul’s crew also laid a wreath at the Mazargues War Memorial in Marseille honouring 205 Indian soldiers of the World Wars.

The sea phase is the sharp end: anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, live firing exercises and cross-deck helicopter landing serials. This year Trishul operated alongside the French frigates Forbin and La Fayette, the nuclear attack submarine Suffren, NH90 helicopters and Atlantique 2 patrol aircraft.

Varuna is the naval pillar of the India-France strategic partnership. It sharpens interoperability between the two navies and signals their shared interest in a free and open Indo-Pacific. After Varuna, Trishul continued to Valencia, Spain, as part of India’s sustained Mediterranean deployment.