Aircraft carrier Vikramaditya, two other ships to visit Male

The warships will visit Male from February 15 to 18

Indian navy's aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, and two other ships, INS Mysore and INS Deepak will be visiting Male from February 15 to 18, the navy said on Sunday.

The visit comes soon after the ships participated in the International Fleet Review (IFR) in Visakhapatnam.

"During the visit, the warships will have professional interactions with the MNDF (Maldives National Defence Forces) for further enhancing the close co-operation between the two forces. In addition, a number of sports and social engagements, aimed at strengthening ties and mutual understanding between the two navies, are also planned," said a navy statement.

"India and Maldives are close maritime neighbours with strong and extremely cordial defence and diplomatic relations. The Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, in conjunction with MNDF, regularly undertake surveillance in the Maldivian EEZ," it added.

INS Vikramaditya, one of the two aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy, is capable of operating a versatile range of high-performance aircraft, such as the MiG 29K fighters, KM 31 AEW helicopters, multi-role Seakings and utility Chetaks.

It is being accompanied by indigenously constructed INS Mysore, a frontline missile destroyer and INS Deepak, the fleet tanker.