US warship that gave sea burial to Laden visiting India

Photo Source - US Navy website

USS Carl Vinson – the US aircraft carrier that carried out the sea burial of the most dreaded terrorist in the world Osama Bin Laden – has arrived in India to take part in ten day long wargames with the Indian Navy off the coast of Chennai and then in Bay of Bengal.

About a year back, the dead body of the world’s most wanted terrorist was on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson before it was lowered into the sea – Laden’s final resting place somewhere in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Run on nuclear fuel, the 31-year-old Vinson was also deployed around Iran in 1990’s and in the north Arabian Sea to launch first strikes of Operation Enduring Freedom against Afghanistan after 9/11 terror attack.

Floating deck carrier Vinson has led the US 7^th Fleet comprising of guided missile cruiser USS Bunkerhill, guided missile destroyer USS Halsey and logistics ships UNNS Bridge. Los Angeles- class submarine USS Louisville and a P3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft to India for the 16^th edition of the Malabar exercise that began in 1992.

Based in Japan, the 31-year-old Vinson has been responsible for transporting Laden’s body to his sea burial after he was killed by US Navy’s Seals from his safe house in Abottabad, Pakistan. Presently it has reached off the coast of Chennai on the Western shores with a 6000-strong crew. The ship goes by the nickname the "Gold Eagle" -- so called for the eagle prominently featured in its seal. The eagle, which is meant to be emblematic of the country, carries a banner displaying the Latin phrase, "Vis Per Mare," which means "Strength from the Sea" and is the ship's motto.

Vison’s crew along with those onboard other warships will take part in table-top exercises here for the next four days beginning April 7. Thereafter the 7^th Fleet will move to the Bay of Bengal.

In the Bay of Bengal, right under the dragon’s neck, Vinson will undertake naval wargames with the Indian Navys’ flotilla comprising of indigenously built guided missile frigate INS Satpura, guided missile destroyers INS Ranvijay and INS Ranvir, missile corvette INS Kulish and fleet tanker INS Shakti. Maritime patrol aircraft Tu-142M and other rotary wing aircraft of the Indian Navy will also take part in the exercise.

Except for the 2007 edition the exercise has never taken place in the Bay of Bengal. Also the Indian government has been wary of making Malabar a multi-lateral exercise lest it irks China.  India decided to not to expand the Malabar exercise after the neighbor in the east- China strongly objected to the 2007 edition of the Malabar exercise that saw five countries - India, US, Australia, Japan and Singapore exercising in the Bay of Bengal. Beijing has seen the exercise as a grouping of democratic countries in the Asia-Pacific Region to contain the rise of the Dragon.

Sources say that both the forces will simulate in anti-submarine operations, submarine to submarine operations, flying operations and cross deck embarkations. During the exercise, alternating control and command will also take place, under which the Indian fleet commander will take over the command of the US fleet and vice-versa.