15 officers from foreign navies complete gunnery course

Fifteen officers belonging to friendly foreign navies have completed their 32 week 'Gunnery' specialization course successfully at the INS Dronacharya.
Officers from Kenya, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Malaysia, Indonesia, Tanzania, Nigeria and Myanmar took part in the passing out parade on December 8.
The parade was reviewed by Commodore Simon Mathai, the Commanding Officer of INS Dronacharya, a defence release said.
Lieutenant Commander SL Wickramasinghe of Sri Lanka was awarded 'Indonesian Trophy' for standing first in overall order of merit.
Major Collins Omondi Owino, Kenya, was awarded the 'Admiral Ramdas Katari Trophy'for best overall performance, it said.
The Indian government funded course, conducted under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) scheme, commenced on April 24.

The trainees were subjected to a seven month curriculum, including a scientific orientation phase, basic phase, a guided weapon introductory capsule, equipment phase consisting of weapon and sensor systems and war gaming.

These officers will now join their respective navies as Gunnery Officers of warships.
INS Dronacharya is a premier gunnery and missile training establishment and Centre of Excellence for Gunnery and Missile Warfare at Fort Kochi under the Southern Naval Command.
It is responsible for training all Indian and international naval personnel in different aspects of 'Gunnery', the release added.