New Delhi, June 8: A Royal Australian Air Force (RAFF) P-8A Poseidon aircraft has been deployed to India under a combined India-Australia maritime surveillance initiative, said Australian government on Wednesday.
P8A aircraft of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) arrived in Goa on June 6 to undertake coordinated operations with the P8I of the Indian Navy (IN) from June 7-9.
P8I squadron INAS 316 at INS Hansa, Goa will interact with & host the RAAF P8A aircraft. Both aircraft will undertake coordinated operations involving anti-submarine warfare and surface surveillance.
"India and Australia will conduct activities in the Indian Ocean Region to build operational maritime domain awareness, practise anti-submarine warfare manoeuvres and bolster military interoperability," the Australian Defence ministry said in a statement.
"This builds upon the successful deployment of an Indian P-8I aircraft to Darwin in April this year, when India and Australia undertook coordinated maritime patrols in Northern Australia for the first time," it added.
"This is an important opportunity for Indian and Australian squadrons to enhance their tactical skills, conduct information-sharing exchanges and further strengthen combined capabilities."
A 'Joint Guidance for the Australia - India Navy to Navy Relationship' was signed between the Indian Navy and Royal Australian Navy on August 18, 2021. Subsequently, the 'Terms of Reference for the Conduct of Navy-to-Navy Talks' was signed on September 29, 2021.