IAF Jaguars ‘sink’ USS Nimitz, F-18s return the favour to INS Viraat
This was by a combined team of Jaguars of the IAF and F-18's. The same type of Jaguars that sank the USS Nimitz.
We have seen how the Jaguars were successful in their mission earlier (Line of duty). INS Viraat requires an early warning platform that is highly reliable.
IAF Su-30 MKI is also taking part in the exercise. The F-16 seems to have got a kill when the MKI made a mistake. May be close combat.
Hornet's refuelled IN Harrier.
Regarding the payment for fuel, Rakesh will send Laddu equivalent to the amount of fuel.
Navies forge new alliance in Indian Ocean detente
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"Gotcha pal! Be careful next time," the radio crackled in the cockpit of a Russian-made Indian war jet as a US F-16 scored a "kill" during a multi-nation naval drill in the Bay of Bengal.
The scorecard of one of the biggest-ever peacetime wargames in the region included a joint "attack" on Indian aircraft carrier INS Viraat and a mid-ocean hunt for the US nuclear submarine USS Chicago by warships from Australia, Japan and Singapore.
"The purpose of this high-end exercise is to build inter-operability between navies," said William Crowder, commander of the Seventh Fleet, the largest forward-deployed US naval strike force.
He was speaking on Saturday aboard the US super-carrier USS Kitty Hawk as the six-day "Operation Malabar" neared its end.
Malabar symbolises a new alliance between the Indian and US militaries, Cold War adversaries less than two decades ago who now say there is a need for global action against rising extremism and nuclear proliferation.
The Seventh Fleet barrelled into the Indian Ocean 36 years ago after India unwittingly destroyed a US plane in Pakistan during a full-scale war between the South Asian rivals in 1971.
"There's zero connection to 1971... I was 19 years old then and things have since then changed -- changed for good," Crowder said as Indian Sukhoi-30s and US F/A-18s flew in joint formation over warships dotting the Bay of Bengal.
The green light by India -- a trusted Cold War ally of Russia outside the Soviet bloc -- to the first-ever US proposals for common procedures for the drill was also a sign of new bonding between Western and Asian militaries, analysts said.
"Barely a month ago we ordered our Sukhois not to use their radar during an exercise in the United Kingdom because we feared the British would decipher our top-secret frequency codes," a top Indian airforce commander said.
"There's been a paradigm shift in mindsets," he added as US Navy Superhornets offered mid-air refuelling to Indian Sea Harrier combat aircraft.
"We did not charge for the fuel though," joked admiral Crowder as commanders from the five militaries held joint "war" briefings aboard Kitty Hawk to try to "sink" the American submarine.
Superhornets from the Kitty Hawk and USS Nimitz, the world's largest supercarrier, teamed up with India's British-supplied Jaguar bombers and "sank" the beleaguered Indian aircraft carrier INS Viraat.
"It's a changing world and we're looking at it as a huge learning experience," said Indian vice admiral Raman Suthan after Crowder handed over charge of the wargames to host India late on Friday.
Just a decade ago, the United States slapped a slew of sanctions on India in response to a series of nuclear tests in 1998 but in 2005 the two nations inked a historic atomic energy deal and embraced each others as strategic partners.
Analysts said mutual interests and fears had driven the five nations into military partnerships such as "Operation Malabar."
"We find common interests that now connect us," said military strategist Raja Menon, a former Indian admiral.
"We are exercising with countries that are democracies, they are energy-dependent but have thriving economies," Menon said.
"It's a rare opportunity to come together in the middle of the ocean and learn from each other on a wide array of issues," added rear admiral Nigel Coates, commander of the Australian strike force in the Malabar.
Crowder dismissed suggestions that the exercises were aimed at sending a message to either China or Iran.
"There is no connection between these manoeuvres and anything else," Crowder said.
The movements of US carrier groups are being closely watched amid mounting tensions over Iran's nuclear programme, seen by Washington and its Western allies as a covert atomic weapons drive.
ON BOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK (AFP)
. From the photo, it appears that Harrier is carrying 8222.
