The Indian Navy’s carrier strike group, led by the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, and the United Kingdom Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG), led by HMS Prince of Wales, began their first-ever bilateral exercise Konkan on Sunday (October 5).
Both countries will engage in the week-long maritime drill off the Western coast of India, as part of Konkan-25. Notably, it coincides with the two-day visit of the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who lands in India on Wednesday. Here is what to know about its significance for the countries.
Exercise Konkan
Named after India’s strategically crucial Konkan coastal region, the exercise is undertaken every two years to enhance joint maritime and air capabilities between the Indian and UK navies on the high seas.
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While the exercise has been biennial since 2004, this edition marks the first time that a British and Indian Carrier Strike Group are participating together. In this context, carriers are warships that can serve as airbases, too. Given their military significance, they usually move about on the seas as part of a larger protective CSG, comprising destroyers, missile cruisers, frigates, submarines, and supply ships.
The exercise is being conducted in two phases:
Sea phase: includes maritime operational drills focusing on anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine exercises, flying operations and other seamanship evolutions. Both participating nations deployed frontline assets, including aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates (a type of warship), submarines, and integral and shore-based air assets.
Harbour phase: includes professional interactions between naval personnel, cross-deck visits, sports fixtures, and cultural engagements. Additionally, Joint Working Group meetings and Subject Matter Expert Exchanges are also scheduled.
The UK CSG is currently on an eight-month multinational deployment known as Operation Highmast. The CSG is structured around HMS Prince of Wales, which is a 65,000-tonne Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier. It is supported by a Destroyer HMS Dauntless, a Frigate HMS Richmond, and Royal Fleet Auxiliary Support Ships and ships of allies and partners. The CSG operates F-35B Lightning aircraft, and Merlin and Wildcat helicopters.
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The Indian side will be represented by the carrier battle group of the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, along with other surface, sub-surface and air combatants. INS Vikrant operates MIG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenous Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) (Navy).
Indo-Pacific as focus
This milestone exercise underlines the growing strategic alignment between the two countries in safeguarding the crucial Indo-Pacific region.
🇮🇳🤝🇬🇧#IndianNavy – #RoyalNavy bilateral Exercise Konkan-25 scheduled 05 – 12 Oct 25, off the western coast of India.
To be conducted both at harbour and at sea, the exercise aims to enhance #interoperability through conduct of advanced drills encompassing all domains of… pic.twitter.com/vWurMj5Y0E— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) October 5, 2025
CSG operations play a focal role in projecting power, ensuring sea control, and addressing evolving blue-water (open sea) security challenges such as maritime domain awareness, deterrence, and freedom of navigation. The two navies operating together point to not just operational synergy, but also commitment to a rules-based maritime order amid rising geopolitical tensions in the region, officials said.
Lindy Cameron, British High Commissioner to India, said, “The UK and India believe in an Indo-Pacific that is free and open… The engagements between the Carrier Strike Groups of our two navies demonstrate our commitment to maintaining the rules-based international order in the region and lay the groundwork for future cooperation.”
Commodore Chris Saunders, MBE Royal Navy, Defence Adviser, British High Commission, said, “The UK and India are two carrier operating countries, and the Royal Navy and Indian Navy are in a fairly exclusive club as blue-water, multi-carrier navies. This exercise provides another opportunity, a first with both carriers, for two maritime powers to enhance combined capability operating and share best practices. The UK is also proud to co-lead the Maritime Security Pillar of India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative.”
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Part of India-UK Vision 2035
The Prime Ministers of India and the UK in July endorsed the new India-UK Vision 2035, which “reaffirms their shared commitment to unlocking the full potential of a revitalised partnership,” according to their official press statement. Its key pillar is “Defence and Security cooperation, including a common commitment to peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”
There were two crucial pointers under the defence and security cooperation. First, enhancing cooperation under the Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative (IPOI), through establishing a Regional Maritime Security Centre of Excellence (RMSCE) to build capacity and resilience across the Indian Ocean on non-traditional maritime security threats.
Second, enhancing interoperability and readiness by continuing to conduct military joint exercises and expanding training opportunities across all three services. The countries were to position military instructors in each other’s training institutions, reaffirming India as a regional hub for sustained logistics support to the UK armed forces’ presence in the Indian Ocean Region. Exercise Konkan forms an important element of the vision and its components, officials said.
