Indian, US warships to carry out wargames in Arabian sea

The US navy will field its most powerful warships led by the latest nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan and nuclear submarine USS Springfield in a new range of wargames in the Arabian sea from October 15, a naval official here said.     

Indian and US warships will undertake complex air-to-air, under-sea and warship-to-warship manoeuvres in the wargames for ten days, the official said.     

Along with the carriers and submarines, the Malabar series of wargames on India's western seaboard will also see participation by latest guided missile cruisers, destroyers and frigates as well as long range maritime F-18 and Jaguar fighters.     

"The naval wargames will be complex in nature involving anti-submarine warfare manoeuvres, flying operations and crossdeck embarkations," the naval official said signalling a resolve of the two countries to take their military-to- military interaction to a new high.     

The new Malabar series of wargames come close on the heels of frontline Indian Air Force Sukhoi fighters taking part for the first time in fighter exercises at the world's most advanced air wargames complex at Nellis Air Base in the Nevada desert of the United States.