India, US to kick off tri-service exercise in Bay of Bengal today

NEW DELHI: India and the US on Tuesday will kick off their major tri-service exercise called 'Tiger Triumph' in the Bay of Bengal, with a focus on enhancing

military interoperability

for

humanitarian assistance and disaster relief

(HADR) and crisis situations.
The two week-long exercise, with a harbour phase at Visakhapatnam and then massive maritime and amphibious operations off Kakinada, will also see the two sides formulate standard operating procedures to establish a

combined coordination centre

to enable rapid and smooth coordination between the task-forces during exercises and contingencies, officials said.
India will be represented by warships INS Jalashwa, INS Gharial, INS Mumbai and INS Shakti, with their integral helicopters and landing crafts, and P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft.
The Army will deploy troops from the 91 Infantry Brigade and 12 Mechanised Infantry battalion, while the IAF will have C-130J 'Super Hercules' aircraft and Mi-17 helicopters, along with a rapid action medical team (RAMT).

The US has sent amphibious warship USS Comstock and guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson, along with marines, for this fourth edition of Tiger Triumph.
"During the exercise, a joint command and control centre will be established by the Indian Army and the US Marines at the Kakinada naval enclave. IAF, RAMT and the US Navy medical team would also establish a joint medical camp for providing aid," an official said.
India and the US have been steadily cranking up the scope, strength, complexity and frequency of their military exercises as part of their "strategic partnership and convergence". They range from the 'Vajra Prahar' and 'Yudh Abhyas' exercises between their armies to the quadrilateral Malabar naval wargames with Australia and Japan.