• The 14-day bilateral tri-service exercise between India and the US, ‘Tiger Triumph-24’, concluded in Kakinada on March 31.

• The third edition of the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise between both countries began on March 18.

• The exercise was aimed at developing interoperability for conducting HADR operations and refining standard operating procedures to enable rapid and smooth coordination between the forces of the two countries.

• The Indian Army’s contingent comprising one battalion group took part in the tri-service exercise in Visakhapatnam and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, along with the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force.

• The harbour phase was conducted in Visakhapatnam from March 18-25 and included pre-sail discussions, subject matter expert exchange, sports engagements, ship boarding drills and cross-deck visits.

• The sea phase was conducted from March 26-30 and it included units of both countries undertaking maritime exercises, followed by landing of troops at Kakinada for setting up of a joint command and control centre and a joint relief and medical camp for HADR operations.

• The participating units from the Indian Navy included a landing platform dock, landing ship tanks (large) including their integral landing crafts and helicopters, guided missile frigate and long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

• The Indian Army was represented by one Infantry Battalion Group including mechanised forces and the Indian Air Force had deployed one medium-lift aircraft, transport helicopter and the Rapid Action Medical Team (RAMT).

• The exercise signifies the robust strategic partnership between the two countries and was aimed towards sharing best practices and standard operating procedures in undertaking multinational HADR operations.

Other bilateral exercises with the US are: 

i) Cope India (Air Force)

ii) Yudh Abhyas (Army) 

iii) Sea Defenders (Coast Guard)

iv) Vajra Prahar (Special Forces).

Major Defence Partner

• The Indo-US defence ties have been on an upswing in the last few years.

• In June 2016, the US designated India a ‘Major Defence Partner’ paving way for sharing of critical military equipment and technology.

• The two countries have also inked key defence and security pacts over the past few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.

• The two sides also signed COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 which provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for the sale of high-end technology from the US to India.

• In October 2020, India and the US sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties. The pact provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries.

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