3 Indian Naval Ships to participate in Malabar Exercise 2018

New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI): The Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri, Shakti and Kamorta of the Eastern Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, NM, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Fleet, would be participating in the 22nd edition of Malabar Exercise, off Guam, US from June 7 to 16, 2018.

As per a government release on Monday, the three Indian Naval Ships are scheduled to reach Guam on June 7 to take part in the Harbour Phase of the exercise.

It is for the first time the Malabar Exercise is being conducted at/ off Guam

Malabar 2017 was held in July last year on the Eastern Sea Board of India, off Chennai and Visakhapatnam.

The scope of the MALABAR 2018 includes professional interactions during the Harbour Phase in Guam from 7 to 10 June and the Sea Phase from 11 to 16 June.

It includes a diverse range of activities at sea including Aircraft Carrier operations, Air Defence, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Surface Warfare, Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS), Joint Manoeuvres and Tactical procedures.

The Indian Navy will be represented by the two indigenously designed and built ships, the multipurpose stealth frigate INS Sahyadri and Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette, INS Kamorta, Fleet Tanker INS Shakti and Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft P8I.

Further, the United States' navies include the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan with its air wing; two Ticonderoga class cruisers, USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville; two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, USS Benfold and USS Mustin; a Los Angeles-class attack submarine and one Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft P8A.

The JMSDF would be represented by a Hyuga class helicopter carrier JS Ise with integral helicopters; Takanami class destroyer JS Suzunami; Akizuki class destroyer JS Fuyuzuki, Japanese Maritime Patrol Aircraft, P1, and a submarine.

The 26-year-old Maritime exercise has grown in scope and complexity and aims to address the variety of shared threats and challenges to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.

Further, the exercise contributes towards increasing the level of mutual understanding, interoperability and sharing of the best practices between the three navies.

Indian, Japanese, and the US navies will participate in the exercise. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI