Indian forces conducted 27 Army, Navy and Air Force exercises with the United States in the past five years.

Giving this information in the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a query by Samajwadi Party's Shahid Siddiqui, Defence Minister A K Antony said of these, 14 had been war manoeuvres, involving land forces of the two nations.

He said warships of the two countries conducted seven exercises, involving participation of two US nuclear carriers and five nuclear-powered submarines in the Malabar series of war games.

Antony said the US Air Force [Images] and the Indian Air Force had held six exercises between 2002 and 2007.

According to details tabled in the House, Indian and US land forces had been holding exercises every year since 2002. The exercises were limited to one in 2002, but from 2003 onwards the US and Indian Armies had been holding joint manoeuvres two to four times a year.

The largest number of army-level exercise, four in number, took place in 2005.