Exercise Malabar 2020: The second phase of the naval exercise began on Tuesday and lasted four days.
New Delhi:
In the second phase of the four-nation Malabar exercise (naval war games with India, the United States, Japan, and Australia), American MiG-29K and F18 fighter jets carried out simulated strikes and coordinated fire on a surface target el Friday.
Dramatic footage showed the MiG-29Ks taking off and landing aboard the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier; a close-up showed a fighter plane landing at high speed and successfully deploying its tail hook to complete its landing.
“The MiG-29Ks of the Indian Navy and the F18s of the United States Navy flew with the P-81 maritime patrol aircraft of the Indian Navy and the AEW (Airborne Early Warning) aircraft of the Indian Navy. the United States, E2C Hawkeye in perfect coordination, “said a statement from the Indian Navy.
This is the last day of the second phase of these exercises. On Thursday, fighter jet operations were carried out from the decks of the Vikramaditya and her American counterpart, the USS Nimitz.
The second phase of Exercise Malabar 2020 started on Tuesday in the northern Arabian Sea with the participation of the Vikramaditya Carrier Battle Group and the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, as well as other Indian, American, Australian and Japanese warships and submarines.
Strengthening friendship across the oceans.# Malabar2020 Phase 2#Bridges@Australian@IndianNavy@JMSDF_PAO@We navypic.twitter.com/ITW8MTsKgi
– SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) November 19, 2020
“These exercises (will include) inter-deck flight operations and advanced air defense exercises … Advanced surface and anti-submarine warfare exercises, marine evolutions and weapons firing will also be conducted to further enhance interoperability.” said the Ministry of Defense. said.
The first phase, held in the Bay of Bengal from November 3-6, focused on similarly advanced exercises.
This is the first time in years that all four members of the alliance have participated. The drills are seen as part of efforts to balance China’s military and economic reach in the Indo-Pacific. They also come when India is caught in a serious confrontation with China over the Ladakh border issue.
Last month, China said it had “taken note” of the exercises (and the inclusion of Australia), stressing that military cooperation should be “conducive” to regional peace and stability.
With contributions from ANI
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