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The weeklong Indo-US bilateral naval exercise commenced on Thursday off the west coast of India with nearly 750 United States Navy personnel taking part, a US embassy release said.
The operation, codenamed Exercise Malabar, will conclude on October 3. It is designed to increase the interoperability between the two navies. The exercises will include surface-to-surface and air events, including personal exchanges.
The US Navy is being represented by the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62), the Spruance class destroyer USS Paul F Foster (DD 964), and a P-3C patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, the release said.
During the exercise, both forces will work together in a variety of skill areas, including cross-decking of helicopters, formation steaming, co-ordination gun shoots, and anti-submarine warfare training. This is the fourth in the Malabar Exercise series, the last exercise having being held in 1996.
The Chancellorsville and the Paul F Foster arrived in Cochin on Thursday. Besides participating in exercise-related planning and briefings, the crew will enjoy cultural exchanges and social activities among themselves and with the locals.
The Chancellorsville, which has a crew of approximately 360, is stationed at Yokosuka, Japan, while the Paul F Foster, with a crew of about 340, has its home base at Everett, Washington.
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