India and the UK Begin Bilateral Naval Exercise KONKAN-26 off Plymouth

13 October 2026National

The Indian Navy and Britain's Royal Navy began the bilateral exercise KONKAN-26 off Plymouth, United Kingdom, running 8 to 15 October 2026, with the Talwar-class guided-missile frigate INS Trishul representing India. The harbour phase featured professional interactions, cross-deck visits, sports and cultural engagements, and opened INS Trishul to visitors. The sea phase covered drills across the air, surface and sub-surface domains - cross-deck helicopter landings, firing serials, air defence, seamanship evolutions and anti-submarine warfare. The exercise is designed to deepen interoperability, sharpen operational coordination and exchange best practices between the two navies.

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KONKAN is the India-UK bilateral naval exercise series, instituted in 2004 | India and the UK also hold the larger tri-service exercise Konkan Shakti, first conducted in 2021 | INS Trishul is a Talwar-class frigate commissioned in 2003 and serves with the Western Naval Command

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