Head of the Indian Navy visits HMS Queen Elizabeth to find out how the aircraft carrier can support naval operations overseas

Admiral Sunil Lanba, chief of the Indian naval staff,  was given a grand reception as he visited Portsmouth.

The top officer met his opposite number in the UK, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Philip Jones, as he was given a tour of Portsmouth’s Naval Base and the navy’s first supercarrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The Royal Navy and the Indian Navy have formed the carrier capability partnership which aims to share best practice from Britain’s carrier programme.

The visit was part of an on-going effort between the two military forces to combine their naval might and operate more closely in the future.

Adm Jones said: ‘I am sure we will be able to develop further synergies in our respective future carrier strike capabilities. The important thing is that by developing these capabilities in tandem, we build in a level of interoperability.

‘When combined with our regular operational interaction and exercises such as the hugely valuable Konkan series there can be no doubt we will be increasingly well placed to work together across the full spectrum of Naval activity – from disaster relief to high end warfighting.’

Exercise Konkan is an annual UK-Indian naval exercise that is usually held off the coast of Goa.

The last ship to take part was Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon which is currently deployed in the Middle East.???????