Two Nations, One Ocean: Konkan 25 Heralds a New Chapter in India–UK Naval Partnership

As Exercise Konkan 2025 concluded off the coast of Goa this week, the sight of India’s INS Vikrant sailing alongside the UK’s HMS Queen Elizabeth symbolised more than interoperability—it captured the essence of a modern maritime partnership between two leading democracies. What began two decades ago as a modest bilateral drill has now evolved into a strategic dialogue at sea, reflecting the growing convergence of Indian and British maritime power in the Indo-Pacific.

From Familiar Waters to Strategic Depths

When the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy institutionalised Exercise Konkan in 2004, its scope was limited to basic seamanship and passage exercises. Two decades later, it has transformed into a multi-domain engagement featuring anti-submarine warfare, air defence, and complex tactical manoeuvres.

This evolution mirrors the broader trajectory of the India–UK relationship itself—from one rooted in history to one defined by strategic parity and shared purpose. Each iteration of Konkan has built on the last, with greater operational sophistication, expanded objectives, and stronger political signalling.

The shift also underscores a key realisation in both capitals: in an era in which maritime security defines strategic influence, sea-power cooperation is the foundation of an enduring partnership.

Konkan Shakti: The Turning Point

The turning point came in 2021, when the two nations held Exercise Konkan Shakti, their first-ever tri-service engagement. The UK’s Carrier Strike Group 21, led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, deployed to the Indo-Pacific in a powerful demonstration of Britain’s “Global Britain” posture. For India, the engagement was both symbolic and operationally valuable, showcasing the Indian Navy’s readiness to collaborate with a technologically advanced blue-water navy.

The exercise encompassed cross-deck fighter operations, over-the-horizon targeting, air defence coordination, and joint maritime domain awareness—all elements characteristic of advanced coalition warfare. It was also a practical rehearsal for India’s own carrier strike ambitions following the commissioning of INS Vikrant in 2022.

Konkan Shakti established a precedent: the two nations could move beyond interoperability to operational synergy across the maritime, air, and land domains.

Carrier Cooperation: A Symbol of Strategic Convergence

Carrier-to-carrier engagement has since become the defining feature of the India–UK naval partnership. Both nations belong to a very select group of blue-water, multi-carrier powers—an elite capability that demands technological sophistication, logistical reach, and doctrinal maturity.

Operating carriers in proximity requires seamless coordination across air, surface, and subsurface assets, as well as integrated command-and-control frameworks. Cross-deck landings between INS Vikrant and HMS Queen Elizabeth exemplify the pinnacle of interoperability—an achievement that very few navies globally can replicate.

Beyond operational mastery, such cooperation reflects a deeper strategic convergence. Both nations share an abiding interest in maintaining freedom of navigation, a rules-based maritime order, and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Carrier cooperation thus serves both as a deterrent and a declaration of two democracies committed to the same oceanic vision.

Strategic Drivers: Shared Challenges, Complementary Strengths

The intensification of India–UK naval cooperation is driven by a shared understanding of the maritime challenges of the 21st century.

Both nations depend on secure sea lanes that underpin the global economy. Both face threats ranging from piracy, illegal fishing, and trafficking, to the more complex dynamics of grey-zone warfare and strategic competition. The Indian Ocean, through which a majority of the world’s trade and energy flows, has become a critical geopolitical arena where both countries’ interests intersect.

India, as the Indian Ocean’s largest resident naval power, sees maritime security as central to its national strategy. The UK, with its Global Britain orientation, views sustained engagement in the region as key to projecting influence and securing its global interests. Together, their partnership embodies the fusion of a resident power and a returning power—each bringing complementary strengths to the table.

Exercises like Konkan enhance not only interoperability but also shared readiness for humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and crisis response operations—missions that increasingly define the modern navy’s utility in peace as much as in conflict.

Institutionalising the Partnership: The 2030 Roadmap

The foundation for sustained cooperation was set by the India–UK Roadmap 2030, announced by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Boris Johnson in 2021. The roadmap committed both sides to a long-term strategic framework encompassing defence, technology, trade, and climate cooperation.

Momentum accelerated in January 2024, when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited London—the first such visit in over two decades. His discussions with Defence Secretary Grant Shapps led to several landmark initiatives, including:

• Deployment of the UK’s Littoral Response Group to the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) in 2024, followed by the Carrier Strike Group in 2025.
• Expansion of joint research and development on next-generation technologies.
• Instructor and cadet exchanges between military training institutions.
• An India–UK logistics exchange agreement to facilitate mutual support during exercises, deployments, and humanitarian missions.

These arrangements mark a transition from episodic cooperation to institutionalised maritime partnership, reinforcing India and the UK as enduring contributors to Indo-Pacific security.

Navigating the Maritime Century

As strategic competition intensifies across the Indo-Pacific, the 21st century is increasingly emerging as a maritime century—one where the balance of power will hinge on who can project, sustain, and protect influence across the seas.

For India and the UK, strengthening naval ties is not just an operational necessity but also a strategic statement. It signals their shared intent to act as net security providers, upholding the principles of openness, transparency, and international law.

The image of INS Vikrant and HMS Queen Elizabeth manoeuvring in formation off India’s western coast is emblematic of this new maritime chapter—one defined by trust, mutual respect, and collective purpose.

Conclusion: Anchored in Trust, Steered by Strategy

Two decades since its inception, Exercise Konkan has evolved from a modest drill into a symbol of strategic maturity. Its journey reflects how two nations with complex historical legacies have built a forward-looking partnership grounded in operational confidence and political alignment.

As the Indo-Pacific continues to shape the future of global order, India and the UK stand poised to play a defining role—anchored in shared values, united by maritime vision, and guided by the understanding that the ocean connects, rather than divides.

Ravi Shankar