MILAN: Building bridges of friendship across the seas

The multilateral Naval Exercise – MILAN-2026 – apart from the International Fleet Review and the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium-2026 have all helped in building bridges of friendship. The participants were seen exchanging pleasantries on board INS Vikrant, before bidding adieu to the counterparts from other navies, on the concluding day— Wednesday evening.

“I am participating in MILAN for the first time. Ours is a small nation and I am grateful to India for giving us an opportunity to participate in a multilateral naval exercise. I had my military training in India,” says a beaming Benjamin Esparon of Seychelles, who was on board INS Vikrant.

“This is our (Seychelles) 50th year of Independence. The Indian Navy is helping Seychelles by training our defence personnel,” he said. On the challenges being faced by Seychelles, he says: “Smuggling of drugs and human trafficking are the major problems.”

“The event (MILAN) has been wonderfully arranged and executed well. We are here for the past 20 days, said Nafiu from Maldives.

“This is the sixth time I am coming to India. Our nation has cultural links with India. I am extremely happy to participate in MILAN. The overall experience was very good,” says Oezir from Indonesia. Many of the participants appreciated Visakhapatnam for its natural beauty and sightseeing places like Kailasagari, which they had visited during their stay in the city.

INS Vikrant

The majestic INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenously-built aircraft carrier, was the cynosure of all eyes. The first Vikrant served the Indian Navy from 1961 to 1997, and turned the tide in India’s favour during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Her successor, the present Vikrant, inherits the illustrious legacy.

With a total length of 262.5 metres from end-to-end, the upper deck allows the landing of six helicopters and naval aircraft. The ships has over 2,500 km of cabling. It accommodates 1,700 staff and the ship’s automated galleys can churn out an average of 16,000 chapatis and 5,000 buns in a single day!

One can clock about 12 km by walking the ship’s various passages and lobbies. There are two huge lifts from the upper deck to the hangar below.

As many as 10 MIG 29K aircraft can be parked in the hangar. The personnel on board include: Met officers, sailors, divers, pilots and various categories of defence personnel. They hail from different States of the country. In short, the crew on board represent a mini-India.