British HMS Prince of Wales and Indian INS Vikrant aircraft carriers lead first UK India carrier exercise.

The British Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales and India’s INS Vikrant completed their first-ever joint carrier operations under Exercise Konkan 2025 in the Arabian Sea. The milestone showcases the deepening UK-India maritime partnership and strengthens security cooperation across the Indo-Pacific.

London, UK, October 19, 2025 - According to a Royal Navy announcement on October 15, 2025, the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales led a Carrier Strike Group alongside the Indian Navy’s first indigenous carrier, INS Vikrant, during Exercise Konkan 2025 in the Arabian Sea. The two aircraft carriers conducted coordinated flight operations, maritime strike drills, and replenishment-at-sea activities that demonstrated a new level of operational integration between the Royal Navy and Indian Navy. British and Indian defense officials said the exercise highlights both nations’ shared commitment to ensuring stability and open sea lanes across the Indo-Pacific.
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Indian Air Force Su-30MKIs and Jaguars join two British F-35B Lightning IIs in a flypast over HMS Prince of Wales during Exercise Konkan 2025, marking the first-ever joint carrier operations between the UK and India. (Picture source: British Royal Navy)

Exercise Konkan 2025 brought together the full maritime air power of both nations in a high-tempo operational setting. The British Royal Navy deployed HMS Prince of Wales with a tailored air wing consisting of six F-35B Lightning II short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) fighters and four Merlin Mk2 helicopters configured for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and surveillance. Simultaneously, INS Vikrant embarked eight MiG-29K multirole fighters and four Kamov Ka-31 airborne early warning helicopters, executing a full cycle of launch and recovery operations in concert with the British carrier.

The core of the exercise was structured around integrated fleet defense and offensive strike drills. British F-35Bs provided a protective combat air patrol (CAP) over the strike group, while Indian Air Force Su-30MKI and Jaguar fighters, aided by an Il-78 Mainstay AWACS platform, simulated hostile penetration of the carrier’s airspace. These adversarial air missions challenged the Carrier Air Wing to adapt to multi-platform threats from a regional peer, sharpening air defense coordination and layered surveillance techniques.

In parallel, anti-submarine operations were conducted using British Merlins and Indian P-8I Neptune maritime patrol aircraft. Simulated enemy submarines, played by Indian Navy diesel-electric platforms, tested the ability of both navies to share acoustic data, coordinate search patterns, and prosecute targets across a dispersed maritime battlespace. Surface escorts from both sides carried out formation maneuvering, replenishment simulations, and communications interoperability tests, ensuring full-spectrum operational alignment.

Crucially, the dual-carrier element of Konkan 2025 was more than symbolic. It represented a leap in tactical integration, with both air wings conducting synchronized launch and recovery cycles, deconflicting flight operations, and sharing real-time mission data. Though operating with different takeoff systems, STOVL for HMS Prince of Wales and STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) for INS Vikrant, the two carriers demonstrated effective parallel flight operations in a contested environment.

The British Royal Navy HMS Prince of Wales, a 65,000-ton Queen Elizabeth-class carrier, is designed to operate up to 36 F-35B fighters and 14 helicopters, although her embarked complement during this exercise was adjusted for deployment logistics. The F-35Bs, with their advanced radar cross-section reduction, sensor fusion, and vertical landing capability, enabled the British Carrier Strike Group to simulate stealth-based strike packages, maritime interdiction, and high-value unit escort roles. The Merlin Mk2s performed ASW duties, equipped with dipping sonar and torpedoes, enhancing undersea situational awareness.

INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier, displaces approximately 45,000 tons and can field an air group of up to 26 fixed-wing aircraft and four rotary-wing platforms. Its aviation deck features a ski-jump ramp for MiG-29K takeoff and arrestor gear for recovery. During the exercise, Vikrant operated a reduced combat load of eight MiG-29Ks, twin-engine, carrier-capable fighters designed for air superiority and maritime strike, supported by four Ka-31 AEW helicopters, which provided persistent radar coverage and maritime domain awareness.

This exercise marked a significant step forward for India’s carrier aviation capability. While INS Vikrant reached full operational clearance earlier this year, Konkan 2025 validated its performance in a coalition framework. Carrier air wing integration, deck crew coordination, sortie generation, and mission synchronization were executed with a level of cohesion that positions the Indian Navy as a rising carrier-capable power in the Indo-Pacific.

Beyond the high-end warfighting component, Konkan 2025 included extensive diplomatic and industrial engagements. HMS Prince of Wales made port in Goa, while Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond berthed in Mumbai. The British Royal Navy hosted bilateral defence forums and industrial outreach events aboard HMS Richmond, with UK Defence Minister The Lord Coaker leading a joint summit on expanding UK-India defence collaboration. Speaking at the event, he emphasized that the two democracies were "alive with opportunity" in maritime security, shipbuilding, and aerospace integration.

On the cultural diplomacy front, Royal Navy sailors engaged in community events with Indian Navy personnel, including a friendly football match that ended in a 1-1 draw, and a culinary tour of Mumbai hosted by renowned Indian blogger Devashree Sanghvi, known as "The Crazy Indian Foodie." These engagements underscored the broader people-to-people and institutional ties that form the bedrock of military partnerships.

Exercise Konkan is part of a long-standing bilateral naval series, but this edition, Konkan 2025, has set a new standard. It validated the British Royal Navy’s ability to project carrier strike capability thousands of miles from home while reinforcing India’s emerging role as a regional carrier-operating nation with indigenous warship and aviation infrastructure. Most significantly, it proved that two different carrier doctrines, one based on fifth-generation stealth aircraft and vertical launch platforms, the other on short takeoff arrestor-recovery fighters, can operate in tandem under a shared operational framework.

The exercise concluded with a one-day joint air drill involving British F-35Bs and Indian Air Force aircraft off India’s western seaboard. The British Carrier Strike Group has since departed Indian waters to continue its global eight-month deployment under Operation Highmast, which includes follow-on engagements in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific.

For the British Royal Navy and the Indian Navy, Konkan 2025 was more than an exercise. It was a statement of intent. It demonstrated that two of the world’s leading democracies can generate and sustain integrated carrier strike power in one of the most strategically contested regions on the planet.