India-UK joint exercise: 5th-gen fighters to debut over Arabian Sea

The Indian Navy will be represented by three indigenous stealth destroyers

India’s military will, for the first time, be operating with a fifth-generation fighter — the Royal Navy’s (RN’s) F-35B Lightning II — as the army, navy and air force participate in the India-UK joint Exercise Konkan Shakti in the Arabian Sea that began on October 21.

The Chinese Navy’s growing aggression in the Western Pacific is bringing together a range of allies. In September, the US, UK and Australia announced an alliance called AUKUS. Last week, the Indian Navy participated in the four-nation Exercise Malabar. And now, from Sunday (October 24) till Wednesday, a British carrier strike group (CSG) centred on