UK's largest naval ship to sail to India next month

UK Navy's largest ship HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier leading the Carrier Strike Group will sail to India and the wider Indo-Pacific region next month. While on India visit, it will conduct joint exercises with Indian forces in the Indian Ocean which a release from the British High Commission in Delhi said will be about " expanding interoperability and enhancing capabilities to defend against shared threats and protect our democratic values."

The Strike Group comprises Type 45 destroyers HMS Defender and HMS Diamond, Type 23 anti-submarine frigates HMS Kent and HMS Richmond, and tanker and storage ships Fort Victoria and RFA Tidespring.

"The UK and India are natural defense partners, particularly in world-class research, development and training. The Carrier Strike Group’s collaboration with India will build the foundations for this relationship to flourish even further," said UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.

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On a 28-week deployment, the Carrier Strike Group will travel over 26,000 nautical miles from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, from the Gulf of Aden to the Arabian Sea, and from the Indian Ocean to the Philippine Sea.

The development comes as part of London's "Indo-Pacific tilt". The carrier will sail to Japan, South Korea, Singapore among the 40 countries it will visit and undertake 70 engagements.

The development comes even as both sides have been increasing high-level engagement. Last year, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had visited India, and later this year Indian PM Modi is expected to travel to the UK to take part in the G7 summit in Cornwall. Both countries have bi-annual exercises--Exercise Ajeya Warrior, for the army, Exercise Konkan for the navy, and Exercise Indra Dhanush for the Air Force. UK has the 5th largest defense budget, highest in Europe and second highest in NATO. The country is also the 2nd largest defense exporter in the world.