Visakhapatnam: In consonance with the established partnership between India and the US, a bilateral tri-Service Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise Tiger Triumph -24 commenced on the Eastern seaboard on March 18 and will continue till March 31.

“The exercise is aimed at developing interoperability for conducting HADR operations and refine Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to enable rapid and smooth coordination between forces of both countries,” the Navy said.

Indian Navy ships with integral helicopters and landing crafts embarked the Indian Navy aircraft. Indian Army personnel and vehicles and IAF aircraft and helicopters along with the Rapid Action Medical Team (RAMT) would be participating in the exercise. The US would be represented by its navy ships with troops drawn from the US Marine Corps and the US Army.

The Harbour Phase is scheduled from March 18 to 25. Personnel from both navies would participate in training visits, subject matter expert exchanges, sports events and social interactions. On completion of the Harbour Phase, the ships, with the troops embarked, would sail for the Sea Phase and undertake maritime, amphibious and HADR operations following injected situations, the Navy said in a statement.

On completion of the Harbour Phase, the ships, with the troops embarked, would sail for the Sea Phase and undertake maritime, amphibious and HADR operations in accordance with injected situations, it added. The joint exercise would culminate with a closing ceremony on completion of the sea phase.