samlove
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Shotgun' for Roosevelt
- Malabar war games
The stealth frigate INS Shivalik steaming past the Roosevelt. Picture taken from Roosevelt flight deck
On board the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Bay of Bengal, Oct. 17: An Indian warship played "shotgun" for this US super-carrier during an air defence drill last night, about 150 nautical miles east-southeast of Chennai during the latest edition of the Malabar war games, which also include a Japanese destroyer.
"The 'shotgun' role will be shared by the Indians and the Japanese in this exercise," said Captain Craig Clapperton, commanding officer of the carrier.
On Sunday, an Indian fleet tanker is expected to pull alongside and feed the carrier in a hostile scenario described as "opposed replenishment at sea".
In scenarios that change daily, and sometimes several times during the day (and night) in Malabar 2015, Indian warships, commandos and aircraft combine with the Japanese and other American assets "to function as part of a strike group" for contingencies, war game directors and Clapperton.
"Shotgun" means a bodyguard in US navy lingo. In the carrier strike group of which the USS Theodore Roosevelt is the centrepiece, the regular "shotgun" is the USS Normandy guided missile cruiser. This afternoon, it was leading a steam past of ships along the carrier.
But in last night's drill, the Normandy's role was assigned to an Indian warship and partly to the Japanese destroyer, the Fuyuzuki. This afternoon, the INS Shivalik stealth frigate and the INS Betwa destroyer of the Indian navy were also part of the steam past.
Clapperton could not immediately confirm which of the Indian ships was his "shotgun" in the night game. But he did not rule out the possibility that can be described thus: "Shotgun" Shivalik carries "the big stick" for the Rough Rider.
A C2A Greyhound on USSRoosevelt. Used to ferry supplies, men #Malabar2015
Indian stealth frigate Shivalik steams past carrier USSRoosevelt in Malabar2015 on Sat afternoon.