Context

• The naval exercise Konkan 18 between India and United Kingdom was conducted from November 28 to December 6, 2018 off Goa.
• Naval cooperation between India and the United Kingdom is based on the long term strategic relationship between both countries.

About

• 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 KONKAN series of exercises commenced in 2004, and since then has grown in scale.
• For this edition, Royal Navy was represented by HMS Dragon, a Type 45 Class Destroyer equipped with integral Wildcat helicopter.
• The Indian Navy fielded INS Kolkata, the first ship of latest Kolkata class destroyers, equipped with integral Seaking and an IN submarine.
• In addition, IN maritime patrol aircraft, Dornier will also participate in the exercise.

Key facts-

• The regular IN-RN interaction over the years has resulted in an increase in the professional content of the bilateral exercise.
• 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 sea, KONKAN-2018 also encompasses professional interactions and sports fixtures.

         Importance of this exercise-

• The exercise is aimed at deriving mutual benefit from each others’ experiences and is indicative of the continuing cooperation between the two countries.
• The inter-operability achieved over the years as a result of such exercises has proved to be operationally beneficial to both navies.
• The naval cooperation is a tangible symbol of the commitment of both nations in ensuring a positive climate at sea for enhancing strategic stability and promoting economic prosperity.
• Exercise Konkan is a great opportunity to reinforce the India-UK defence partnership, deepening understanding of how both the Navies can work together to counter maritime threats. This sits alongside a wide range of UK activity in Indian Ocean – covering military, multilateral and commercial engagement.