Indo US Passex

IN NEWS:

• Indian navy conducted a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with the U.S. Navy’s USS Nimitz carrier strike group.

About PASSEX

• A passing exercise (a PASSEX in U.S. Navy terminology) is an exercise done between two navies to ensure that the navies are able to communicate and cooperate in times of war or humanitarian relief.
• It was conducted near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Malacca Straits.
• The India-US Passex comes just a few weeks after the USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt  strike groups carried out wargames in the Philippine Sea.
• Indian Navy has conducted PASSEXs with the Japanese Navy and the French Navy in the recent past.

About USS NIMITZ:

• USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is a nuclear powered supercarrier of the United States Navy, and the lead ship of a class of ships known as Nimitz class.
• One of the largest warships in the world, the warship has a crew of over 6000 including Navy personnel, the air wing and marines with almost 90 aircraft including fighters.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Nimitz class is a group of naval ships belonging to:
(a)United States Navy
(b)French Navy
(c)Royal Navy
(d)Japanese navy

Answer to prelims question