India, UK navies hold Exercise KONKAN-26 off Plymouth
The Indian Navy and the Royal Navy are holding Exercise KONKAN-26, their annual bilateral maritime exercise, off Plymouth, United Kingdom, from 8 to 15 October 2026. Frigate INS Trishul has arrived for it. Its sea phase covers air, surface and sub-surface drills. The Defence Ministry links it to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the India-UK Vision 2035.
Syllabus: Prelims · Current Affairs & IR; GS2 · Groupings & Agreements
Why it matters
Sailors on an Indian frigate who have practised landing helicopters on a British deck, hunting a submarine together and defending against air attack alongside the Royal Navy can work with that navy in a real crisis, such as escorting merchant ships or rescuing crews at sea, without first learning its procedures. That is interoperability, and KONKAN has been building it since 2004. The exercise also shows the defence side of India-UK ties at work, beyond trade: Vision 2035 promises joint exercises across all three services, defence-industrial cooperation and maritime-security capacity building in the Indian Ocean. For India, regular drills with a European navy widen its options as it seeks to be a security provider in the Indian Ocean Region.
Prelims pointers
- Exercise KONKAN: bilateral maritime exercise of the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom; institutionalised in 2004; hosted in rotation.
- India-UK exercises by service: Ajeya Warrior (Army), Indradhanush (Air Force), KONKAN (Navy); Konkan Shakti (2021) was the first tri-service exercise.
- Other naval partners: Varuna with France, JIMEX with Japan, AUSINDEX with Australia; Malabar brings together India, the US, Japan and Australia.
- Talwar class: Project 1135.6 stealth frigates; three built at Baltiysky shipyard, St Petersburg, Russia; follow-on Teg class at Yantar shipyard, Kaliningrad.
- India-UK Vision 2035 defence pillar: 10-year Defence Industrial Roadmap, upgraded Foreign and Defence 2+2 dialogue, joint exercises across all three services.
- Indo-Pacific Oceans' Initiative (IPOI): launched by India at the East Asia Summit, Bangkok, on 4 November 2019; seven pillars, including maritime security.
- Plymouth: port on England's south-west coast on the English Channel; HMNB Devonport there is the largest naval base in Western Europe.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to India's bilateral military exercises with the United Kingdom, consider the following statements:
1. Exercise KONKAN is held between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy.
2. Exercise Indradhanush is held between the Indian Army and the British Army.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer
Answer: (a) 1 only
1 is correct: KONKAN, named after India's western coastal region, has been the Indian Navy-Royal Navy exercise since 2004, and KONKAN-26 is being held off Plymouth. 2 is incorrect: Indradhanush is held between the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force; the two armies hold Ajeya Warrior.
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