The Fourth edition of Exercise Tiger Triumph, a bilateral Tri-Service India-US Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise, is scheduled to begin at Visakhapatnam today. The Harbour Phase will begin today and last till 07th April, during which an Opening Ceremony with a joint Flag Parade will be held on board INS Jalashwa today. The exercise will last till the 13th of this month, with a closing ceremony on board the US Navy Ship Comstock.

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.

The exercise is aimed at developing interoperability for conducting HADR operations and for the formulation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to establish a Combined Coordination Center (CCC) that would enable rapid and smooth coordination between Indian and US Joint Task Forces (JTF) during crises or contingencies.

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 Inf Brigade and 12 Mech 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 embarked.