Paris: Indian Navy's state of the art destroyer INS Mysore will participate in joint naval exercises with the French flotilla.

INS Mysore reaches the naval port of Toulon in southern France on August 13. The destroyer will leave Toulon on August 16 and will start conducting the joint exercises with the French Navy soon after quitting the port. The ship will then move on with the French Navy to Djibouti in northeastern Africa.

This is the second time this year that joint Indo-French naval exercises are being conducted. Earlier this year, a huge French naval flotilla had participated in the largest ever-joint Indo-French naval exercises off Mumbai.

The 6,700-tone Mysore is a multipurpose destroyer, capable of operating in a multi- threat environment. It is amongst the latest ships of the Indian Navy. Equipped with four gas turbines that give it 64,000 horsepower, Mysore can achieve a top speed of 32 knots.

Mysore is very well armed, enabling her to conduct battles on surface, in the air and underwater as well. She has 16 surface-to-surface missiles, a battery of surface- to-air missiles, a 100 mm gun, four 30 mm guns, and torpedoes and antisubmarine rockets. She also carries two fully armed helicopters that act as a force multiplier.

Mysore incorporates the latest elements of stealth technology and the ship is also equipped to operate in nuclear, chemical and biological warfare.