USA and Thailand conduct anti-submarine exercise in Andaman Sea.

The US Navy and Royal Thai Navy (RTN) began the 8th iteration of exercise Guardian Sea at the opening ceremony aboard the RTN frigate HTMS Bhumibol Adulyadej in the Andaman Sea, April 7.

HTMS Bhumibol Adulyadej FFG 471 (Picture source: thaimilitaryandasianregion.blogspot.com)

The joint naval exercise called for coordinated missions between naval ships and anti-submarine aircraft. It called on the skills of navy officers in mission and planning exercises in the search, detection and containment of hostile submarines.

Guardian Sea 2019 marks the first time the RTN will deploy a towed array. The towed array sonar aboard HTMS Bhumibol Adulyadej, used for detecting undersea contacts including submarines, demonstrates the increasing complexity and sophistication of the exercise with more advanced training objectives.

“The US and Royal Thai Navy continues to work closely in anti-submarine warfare towards building upon our already-established combined capabilities,” said Capt. Matt Jerbi, commodore of Destroyer Squadron 7.“Guardian Sea 2019 is a premier exercise that demonstrates our commitment to each other in ensuring that we are ready to counter any threats together, both above and underwater.”

The Guardian Sea naval exercise has been conducted yearly since 2012 and adapted to suit changing scenarios.