Moscow, Oct 20 (UNI) 'Indra-2017,' involving the army, navy and and air forces of Russia and India, kicked off in Vladivostok on Friday, the TASS news agency reported. "The aquatics and sports centre of the Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok hosted on October 20 an official opening ceremony of the first-ever Russian-Indian multi-service force drills," navy spokesman Nikolai Voskresensky said. A group of Indian warships had arrived in Vladivostok on Thursday to take part in the naval part of the 10-day drills. The Russian-Indian maneuvers are being held in the multi-service force format. Instead of the separate drills of Army, Air Force and Navy last year, maneuvers with the participation of the three military branches, are being held this year with the involvement of the Pacific Fleet and also aviation and land troops units of Russia’s Eastern Military District. "Indra-2017 will serve to strengthen mutual confidence and interoperability as well as share best practices between the armed forces of both the countries," South Block said. The joint tri-service exercise, New Delhi had said, will be a demonstration of the increasing commitment of both the nations to address common challenges across the full spectrum of operations. UNI XC-SRJ RP1747