JOIN USThe Indian Navy on Monday began a five-day mock war drill with the Royal Navy of the UK to hone its skills on searching for suspicious vessels on the high seas.
Being held off the west coast, the exercise - Konkan-2013 - emphasises asymmetric operations, anti-air warfare and visit-board-search and seizure (VBSS) exercises.
Konkan is the annual bilateral exercise between the Indian and Royal navies and eight such exercises have taken place in the past.
While the indigenous destroyer INS Delhi, along with its integral Chetak helicopters and other shore-based aircraft, is representing India, the HMS Westminster, a frigate, is participating on behalf of the Royal Navy, said a Navy spokesperson.
The war drill begins with a harbour phase at Goa, followed by the exercises at sea.
Meanwhile, the Kochi-based Southern Command of the Indian Navy on Tuesday inducted an offshore patrol vessel, INS Sunayna, for ocean surveillance and patrolling requirements.