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The navies of India and the United States will resume the 'Malabar series' of joint exercises in October, senior naval officers in New Delhi said.
The series, a regular feature in Indo-US military relations before the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests, was the most evolved joint exercise of the Indian Navy with any foreign navy. Its resumption will take "Indo-US military relations to a new plane", a senior officer told rediff.com
The Indian Air Force and the army have already conducted a joint exercise in Agra. Army commandos and IAF planes participated in the exercise with their American counterparts. Similar exercises are planned for September in Alaska. The IAF and the army have also chalked out more joint exercises with US forces.
According to sources, the dates for the Malabar series are still being worked out. The exercise will feature anti-submarine warfare, naval fighters, joint search and rescue, and other aspects of modern sea warfare.
It is not yet known if INS Viraat, India's only active aircraft carrier, will take part. But "our frontline battleships, including those of the Mysore class, will," a senior naval officer said.
Viraat is at the Cochin Shipyard, undergoing refits that were left incomplete when it was called out to Mumbai as part of India's military build-up against Pakistan in the wake of the December 13 attack on Parliament.
Admiral Madhvendra Singh, chief of naval staff, is expected to visit the US before the Malabar series resumes, to "discuss various aspects of the joint exercises", naval officers in the capital said.
The two navies are already co-operating on several fronts, the most significant being the joint patrolling of the busy Straits of Malacca, notorious for piracy.
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