UK Carrier Strike Group starts maritime exercises with Indian Navy

July 23, 2021

On 22^nd July, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 2021 of the United Kingdom which is led by the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier has joined the Indian Navy for maritime exercises in the Bay of Bengal for three day duration.

Key Points

For the first time, United Kingdom’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 2021 which is led by HMS Queen Elizabeth is having complex maritime interactions with the Indian Navy.
In a two-day bilateral Passage Exercise (PASSEX) the Indian Navy along with the Royal Navy will be conducting various close quarter manoeuvring and multi-ship, sea, air and sub-surface maritime exercises.
This maritime exercise will help both the navies to amplify their cooperation and interoperability.
The combined forces will include 2 submarines, 10 ships, about 20 aircrafts and around 4,000 personnel.
The two navies will work in tandem among themselves in two oceans. Starting within the Indian Ocean for the first round of multiple UK-India exercises and later this summer in the Atlantic Ocean.

About the Carrier Strike Group (CSG)

This is the maiden operational deployment of the CSG.
Sailing for over 26,000 nautical miles it will engage with 40 different countries starting from the Mediterranean to the Indo-Pacific and returning back to the Mediterranean.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier is the largest surface vessel to have been ever constructed in the United Kingdom. It is said to taller than the famous Niagara Falls.
This carrier is being jointly crewed by the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the US Marine Corps. It is equipped with F-35B Lightning multi-role aircrafts.

India Navy’s participation

Indian Navy has deployed INS Ranvir, INS Satpura, INS Kavaratti, INS Jyoti, INS Kulish as well as a submarine. For the PASSEX, India has also deployed P8I aircraft which are capable of Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance missions and also Anti-submarine warfare.

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