Indian and the US Navies have held a joint submarine-hunting exercise in the Indian Ocean, aiming to lay the groundwork for coordinating maritime patrol and reconnaissance, according to the US Navy.
Indian and the US’ P-8 anti-submarine aircraft, along withthe USS Spruance, a guided-missile destroyer, participated in theanti-submarine warfare training on April 15, a US 7th Fleet press statementissued from Diego Garcia said.
The Indian P-8I Neptune aircraft from the Naval Air Squadron312 based at Naval Station Rajali in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu, joined the US P-8APoseidon aircraft from Patrol Squadron VP-8 “Fighting Tigers”, basedin Jacksonville, Florida, in the exercise, the statement said.
“We look forward to developing useful lessons throughthis engagement and laying the groundwork for future integration effortsbetween our Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Forces,” the statementquoted Commander Zachary Stang, the commanding officer of the VP-8, as saying.
The Spruance and VP-8 are operating with the 7th Fleet,which is the largest forward deployed fleet of the US and operates in theIndo-Pacific region, which is the focus of India-US strategic cooperation.
“We were greatly impressed by the professionalism andcompetency of their (Indian) MPRA (Maritime Patrol and ReconnaissanceAircraft),” Commander Matthew Smidt, the commanding officer of theSpruance, was quoted in the statement as saying.
“The exercise was a wonderful experience andopportunity from which we learned and honed our skills”.
India acquired the first of its Boeing-manufactured P-8Is in2012 and has eight of them, with four more expected to join the squadron nextyear.
The exercise was the latest in efforts to develop militarycoordination between the two countries with an eye on the Indo-Pacific, whereChina is projecting its naval strength to the consternation of other countriesin the region.
India, the US and Japan conducted Operation Malabar off theGuam coast last June. Started in 1992 as an India-US exercise, Japan joined itin 2015 turning it into a trilateral cooperation.
The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the USS Rushmore, anamphibious warship, visited Chennai in January.
Earlier this month, the US approved the sale of 24submarine-hunting MH-60R Seahawk Multi-Mission helicopters to India valued at$2.6 billion.