India is rolling out its lone carrier, the 44,500-ton INS Vikramaditya with its MiG-29K fighter jets, while the United States is deploying its mammoth, more than 100,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz for the four-day Malabar Phase II.
In all, there will be about a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft deployed for combat maneuvers, and the “Quad” countries will be interested in safeguarding the “rules-based international order” in the critical Indo-Pacific region. Pacific against an expansionist and aggressive China.
The first phase of the 24th edition of Malabar was held in the first week of November in the bay of bengal, with the strategic demonstration of intent expressed loud and clear to China. Phase II, with aircraft carriers, will be much larger in terms of strength levels and complexity, as previously reported by TOI.
Over 100,000 tonnes of nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz
“It will witness joint operations focused on the INS Vikramaditya and USS Nimitz carrier strike / battle groups. The two aircraft carriers, along with other ships and aircraft of the participating navies, will engage in high intensity naval operations for four days, ”said Indian Navy spokesman Commander Vivek Madhwal on Monday.
The 44,500-ton INS Vikramaditya
“The exercises will include flight operations through the deck and advanced air defense exercises conducted by INS Vikramaditya MiG-29K fighters and USS Nimitz F / A-18 fighters and E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft,” he said.
“In addition, the advanced surface and antisubmarine warfare Exercises, nautical evolutions and firearms will also be carried out to further improve interoperability and synergy between the four friendly navies ”, he added. India will also deploy INS Kolkata and INS Chennai destroyers, stealth frigate INS Talwar, Scorpene submarine INS Khanderi and support to the Ship INS Deepak fleet, as well as helicopters and P-8I maritime patrol aircraft.
The USS Nimitz will be accompanied by the cruiser USS Princeton and the destroyer USS Sterett, in addition to the P8-A maritime patrol plane, in addition to the Australian frigate HMAS Ballarat and a Japanese warship.
India’s military confrontation with China in eastern Ladakh is in its seventh month. Although military and diplomatic talks are underway between the two countries to defuse the clash of troops, the exact modalities and sequence of the proposed withdrawal have not yet been finalized.
The “Quad” countries, which have come together for Malabar after a gap of 13 years, have made it clear that the exercise shows the high levels of synergy and coordination between the four friendly navies, which is based on their values and commitments. shared. towards an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order.
China, of course, now has the largest Navy in the world, with a total force of around 350 warships and submarines, including more than 130 “large surface combatants.” The United States Navy has 293 warships, although it is much more technologically advanced, with up to 11 “super” 100,000 aircraft carriers (each can carry 80-90 fighters) compared to China’s two. But China is building two more aircraft carriers, with the ultimate goal of having 10, as TOI previously reported.
The Indian navy of 140 warships has just one aircraft carrier, 10 destroyers, 14 frigates, 11 corvettes, 15 diesel-electric submarines, and two nuclear-powered submarines, in terms of the top combatants today.
The long-delayed commissioning of the second aircraft carrier being built locally, INS Vikrant, will take place in September 2021. However, the government has not yet approved the initial case to build a third aircraft carrier.
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