IAF’s MIG-29K Fulcrum flies over US Navy ship Nimitz in the Bay of Bengal near Chennai coast on Monday. PTI

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 17

The eight-day joint naval exercise ‘Malabar’ between India, the US and Japan, ended in the Bay of Bengal today with all three navies operating in tandem to hunt submarines, land helicopters on ships of other countries and formation flying of fighter jets that had taken off from giant seaborne aircraft carriers.Indian Navy’s Russian-built MiG-29K jets that had taken off from INS Vikramaditya and the American Boeing F/18-A super hornets which had taken off from USS Nimitz flew in tandem. A MiG overflying an American carrier was a novelty in itself.The last four days of the exercise were the ‘sea phase’ during which warships of the three navies participated in the naval manoeuvres at sea. The movement of ships swiftly at close quarters is as an essential aspect of operations at sea for fleet. It streamlines procedure in ship handling and communications.All three countries carried out what are called cross-deck landings by helicopters. This is for joint operations, if needed. US helicopters landed onboard INS Sahyadri of India and JN Sazanami of Japan. The helicopter from JN Sazanami undertook flying operations from INS Sahyadri and USS Shoup.Despite the rough seas and challenging weather, the ships and aircraft of the three navies carried out their assigned tasks in a cohesive manner. An Indian Navy Seaking helicopter undertook transfer of Japanese personnel to INS Vikramaditya as part of crew exchange programme during the exercise. It was followed by flying operations undertaken by the helicopters of the US Navy ships.Started in 1992 between India and US, the exercise has grown in scope, complexity and participation into a multifaceted exercise.