Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsyayan will lead destroyer Ranvijay, frigate Shivalik, off-shore patrol vessel Sukanya, fleet support ship Shakti & submarine Sindhuraj in the Malabar drills.
The dates of the first 'quad' version of the annual Malabar naval exercises have been announced.
The 24th Malabar naval exercise scheduled to be held in two phases:
* Phase 1 involving Indian Navy, US Navy, Japan Maritime Self Defence Force & Royal Australian Navy will commence off Visakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal from Noveember 3 to 6.
* Phase 2 to be conducted in the Arabian Sea mid-November.
Indian naval formation will be led by Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsyayan who will lead destroyer Ranvijay, frigate Shivalik, off-shore patrol vessel Sukanya, fleet support ship Shakti and submarine Sindhuraj in the drills. The air component will see the Hawk, P-8I, Dornier aircraft and helicopters taking part.
Watch this video of the USS John S. McCain and HMAS Ballarat setting course for Exercise Malabar.