India-US navy, army joint exercises get underway

Oct 26, 2006, 15:21 GMT

New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS) Simultaneously with the Indian and US armies conducting joint exercises to hone their anti-terror skills, the two navies are engaged in their ninth series of combined exercises off the Goa coast.

'Malabar-06' that began Tuesday and concludes Nov 5 'will see the two navies engaging in advanced exercises including anti-submarine operations, maritime interdictions, weapon firings, visit board search and seizure (VBSS) operations, dissimilar air combat (DACT), cross deck flying and a simulated 'War at Se', Indian Navy spokesman Vinay Garg said Thursday.

'At one level, such navy-to-navy interactions help us to hone our skills and audit our own standards by first hand comparison with navies of advanced countries. On the other, it improves mutual understanding and cooperation and helps evolve inter-operability through common drills and procedures,' Garg added.

For the first time, the Indian Navy will be exercising with a landing platform dock troop carrier that it has purchased from the US Navy. The Indian Navy hopes to receive the USS Trenton later this year and induct it into the fleet early next year.

Also for the first time, the two navies would be conducting troop-landing exercises off the Konkan coast.

'For this operation, involving sea-borne landings, some of our army troops have already been trained onboard (landing ship) Gharial. These troops would now be exercising with US Marines,' Garg pointed out.

The Indian Navy vessels participating in the exercise are the guided missile destroyer Mysore, guided missile frigates Beas and Ganga, replenishment tanker Shakti, tank landing ship Gharial, sub-surface killer submarine Shankul, reconnaissance aircraft and Sea Harrier fighters operating from ashore, as also Coast Guard vessel Samar.

The US Navy Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG-05) comprises the cruiser Bunker Hill, destroyers Benfold and Howard, landing platform dock Boxer, nuclear powered submarine Providence and a P3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft operating from Goa, as also US Coast Guard cutter Midgett, and Canadian frigate Ottawa.

The army exercises, codenamed 'Shratrujeet' of 'Victory over the enemy, are set in an urban/semi-urban insurgency environment and are being conducted at Belgaum in Karnataka Oct 25-Nov 3.

'The exercise would focus on evolution of joint drills and refining field craft, battle craft, drills and procedures in counter terrorist operations,' a defence ministry statement said.

The US forces comprise a company of the US Marines Corps with a participating strength of 160 soldiers, including 145 combatants and 15 administrative and support staff. A similarly sized company of the Punjab Regiment will participate from the Indian side.

Among the subjects to be covered during the exercise would be techniques, tactics and procedures for conducting counter-terrorist operations, organisational structure of Indian infantry and US Marine Corps Battalions, confidence and survival training, combat shooting, rock climbing, security of operating bases, astral navigation, unarmed combat, familiarisation with improvised explosive devices, and room shooting.

Also on the agenda are intercommunication and radio telephony procedures, suicide terrorism and human bomb philosophy, human rights issues in counter terrorist operations, house clearance/room intervention drills, establishment of outer and inner cordons, search of built up areas, ambush/counter ambush actions and quick reaction team actions and drills.

Indian and US forces had conducted a similar exercise in Hawaii last month.

© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service