NEW DELHI: India and the UK on Sunday kicked off their main `Konkan’ bilateral naval train within the western Indian Ocean, with the 2 sides deploying plane carriers, warships, submarines and fighters for the extraordinary fight manoeuvres.The Indian warships are being led by plane service INS Vikrant, with its MiG-29K fighters on board, whereas the UK service strike group (CSG) is led by HMS Prince of Wales, with its F-35B multi-role stealth jets, in addition to “belongings” from Norway and Japan for the train, which comes forward of British PM Keir Starmer’s go to to India on Oct 8-9. “The UK and India imagine in an Indo-Pacific that’s free and open. We share an ambition for a contemporary defence and safety partnership, a elementary pillar of UK-India Imaginative and prescient 2035, agreed by our PMs this yr,” stated British excessive commissioner to India, Lindy Cameron.“The engagements between the CSGs of our two navies reveal our dedication to sustaining the rules-based worldwide order within the area and lay the groundwork for future cooperation,” she added.The biennial naval train will embrace advanced maritime operational drills specializing in anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine workout routines in addition to flying operations and different seamanship evolutions. The UK CSG can be scheduled to take part in a one-day aerial defence train with the IAF, which can deploy Sukhoi-30MKI and Jaguar fighters, off the west coast on Oct 14.“Train Konkan will function a platform to consolidate strategic ties, improve interoperability and contribute to regional maritime stability. It’s a reaffirmation of the shared dedication to making sure safe, open and free seas,” Indian Navy spokesperson Captain Vivek Madhwal stated.The Konkan sequence of workout routines has grown considerably in scale and complexity during the last twenty years, fostering enhanced interoperability and mutual understanding in maritime operations between the 2 navies, he added.The UK CSG is at present on an eight-month multinational deployment known as “Operation Highmast”, which incorporates advanced workout routines with companions and allies within the area. The CSG warships can even go to the ports in Mumbai and Goa after the conclusion of the Konkan train.