Navies of India and UK commence bilateral exercise off Goa coast

The navies of India and the UK have begin a bilateral drill off the Goa coast, the Indian Navy said in a statement on Thursday.

'Konkan-2018' commenced on Wednesday and will continue till December 6.

The harbour phase is scheduled from November 28 to 30, followed by the sea phase from December 2 to 6, it said.

The United Kingdom's Royal Navy will be represented by HMS Dragon, a Type 45 Class Destroyer equipped with an integral wildcat helicopter, while the Indian Navy will field INS Kolkata, the first ship of latest Kolkata class destroyers, and a submarine.

In addition, the Navy's maritime patrol aircraft, Dornier, will also participate in the exercise.

Naval cooperation between India and the United Kingdom is based on the long term strategic relationship. Both the navies have, over the years, undertaken bilateral activities such as training exchanges and technical cooperation.

"The bilateral Konkan exercise provides a platform for the two navies to periodically exercise at sea and in harbour, so as to build interoperability and share best practices," the Navy said.

The Konkan series of exercises commenced in 2004 and since then has grown in scale.

The thrust of the exercise this year would be on anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, visit board search and seizure (VBSS) and seamanship evolutions.

Besides exercises at the sea, 'Konkan-2018' also encompasses professional interactions and sports fixtures.

"The exercise is aimed at deriving mutual benefit from each others' experiences and is indicative of the continuing cooperation between the two countries. The interoperability achieved over the years as a result of such exercises has proved to be operationally beneficial to both the navies," the Navy added.