Royal Navy Unleashes HMS Queen Elizabeth During War Games With Indian Navy
This is the moment the Royal Navy and its flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth carry out war games in the Bay of Bengal with the Indian Navy.
The Royal Navy shared the video on social media with the message: “Watch HMS Queen Elizabeth lead a close formation of ships from the Royal Navy and Indian Navy as the two countries carried out training during a two-day exercise.”
The task group sailed with the Indian Navy for a series of exercises in the Bay of Bengal.
According to the Royal Navy, 12 ships, 30 aircraft and 4,500 personnel took part in the exercises, including the frigates HMS Kent and Richmond, and RFA support ship Fort Victoria.
The team set sail with the Indian destroyer INS Ranvir, frigate Satpura, corvettes Kulish and Kavaratti and replenishment ship INS Jyoti.
During two days, the teams carried out a number of air, surface and sub-surface exercises.
Jagjeet Singh Grewal, a marine engineer on HMS Queen Elizabeth with a long family history in the Indian military, said: “It feels good to be exercising with the Indian Navy as we have worked with many nations so far.
“It is good to know I am maintaining my family links while working with the Indian military. My grandfather and grandfather-in-law served alongside the British Army in the Second World War and received a Mention in Dispatches, the Burma Star, Africa Star, War Medal and Defence Medal.”
The aim of the war games was to see how well the UK and Indian navies could work together as both countries are committed to preserving freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean and surrounding areas.
Commodore Steve Moorhouse said: “As HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Carrier Strike Group cross the Indian Ocean, it is only natural that we should exercise with the Indian Navy.
“Britain and India are two prosperous and outward looking democracies, committed to security, freedom and the rule of law, here in the Indian Ocean and beyond. The best way to achieve this is through active maritime partnership, with navies that are ready and able to work together.
“At the strategic level, this exercise is a muscular expression of the closer defence partnership that prime ministers Johnson and Modi envisaged when they agreed the UK-India Roadmap 2030 earlier this year.”