Top US military official Vice Admiral William Douglas Crowder will visit Chennai and Port Blair during September 6-8, coinciding with the participation of the formation commanded by him in the biggest naval war game hosted by India.
Crowder, who heads the US Seventh Fleet, will arrive in Chennai on September 6, after which he will fly to Port Blair where he will stay till the completion of the Malabar Exercise in which warships from five countries -- India, Australia, Japan, Singapore and the US -- are participating, officials said.
The Seventh Fleet is the largest of the forward-deployed US fleets covering 52 million square miles, with nearly 50 ships, over 200 aircraft and 20,000 sailors and Marines assigned to it at any given time.
The Malabar exercise series has usually been a bilateral war game between the Indian and US Navy. This year, the Indian Navy invited other countries to participate.
The exercise is aimed at increasing inter-operability among Indian, Australian, Japanese, Singaporean, and US maritime forces and at developing common understanding and procedures for maritime operations.
The at-sea training will include sea control operations, multi-carrier operations and the exercise of all major air, surface and subsurface maritime skill sets. The participants will also conduct personnel exchanges and professional discussions.
Twenty-six warships from the US, India, Australia, Japan and Singapore will take part in intense day and night action held away from the media glare for the first time.
Indian Air Force's Jaguar deep penetration strike aircraft will for the first time be part of the concentrated action by warplanes and warships.
Warnings have been sounded to commercial ships to keep away from the exercise path, officials said.
Besides Jaguar and Sea Harrier jets, the Indian flotilla in the war game includes the carrier INS Vikrant, two Delhi-class destroyers, two Kashin-class missile destroyers and two Godavari-class missile frigates and an HDW submarine.
The US is fielding its aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and USS Kitty Hawk, guided missile cruisers USS Cowpens and USS Princeton and guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur.
The Japanese have sent two Takanami-class destroyers, Oonami and Udachi, the Australian a US-built Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate HMAS Sirius and a tanker, and Singapore the French La Fayette-class frigate Formidable.