Harbour phase of ‘Exercise Tiger Triumph’ commences on Eastern Seaboard
Cdr Byron Stocks, Commanding Officer USS Comstock, Rear Admiral Susheel Menon, FOCEF, Fleet Cdr, Eastern Fleet, Indian Navy, Vice Admiral Sameer Saxena, Chief of Staff ENC, among others, at the opening ceremony of ‘Tiger Triumph 2025.’
- After the harbour phase, the ships would sail for a sea phase
- Participants from both sides would engage in training visits
- A joint command and control centre would be set up by the Indian Army
Visakhapatnam: The fourth edition of ‘Exercise Tiger Triumph’, the bilateral tri-service India-US Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise, started off on the Eastern Seaboard on Tuesday.
Aimed at developing interoperability for conducting HADR operations and for the formulation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to establish a combined coordination centre (CCC) that would enable rapid and smooth coordination between Indian and US Joint Task Forces (JTF) during exercises and crisis or contingencies, the exercise will continue till April 13.
The Indian side would be represented by Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa, Gharial, Mumbai and Shakti with integral helicopters and landing crafts embarked, Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft P8I, Army troops from 91 Infantry Brigade and 12 Mechanised Infantry Battalion, Air Force C-130 Aircraft and MI-17 Helicopters along with the rapid action medical team (RAMT). The US side would be represented by US Navy Ships Comstock and Ralph Johnson with troops of the US Marine Division.
The harbour phase of the ‘Exercise Tiger Triumph’ that began on Tuesday in Visakhapatnam is scheduled to continue till April 7.
Apart from an opening ceremony followed by a joint flag parade, participants from both sides would also engage in training visits, subject matter expert exchanges, sports events and social interactions. On completion of the harbour phase, the ships with troops embarked would sail for a sea phase and undertake maritime, amphibious and HADR operations off Kakinada coast.
At the opening ceremony of ‘Tiger Triumph 2025’, US Charge D’Affaires, US Embassy, India Jorgan K Andrews said, the exercise sets a great example of how great nations can partner together in times of humanitarian need to provide life-saving support. “Every year, this exercise builds on the previous exercise and breaks new ground. Yesterday, as part of both our forces deploying here to Visakhapatnam, we conducted our first U.S.-India joint logistics movement. Exercises like these enable our forces to work quickly when our partners in the region face humanitarian crises,” he stated.
During the exercise, a joint command and control centre would be established by the Indian Army and US Marines at the Kakinada Naval Enclave. Also, the IAF RAMT and the US Navy medical team would establish a joint medical camp for providing medical aid. The exercise would culminate with a closing ceremony on board US Navy Ship Comstock on April 13 in Visakhapatnam.
