U.K. aircraft carrier on maiden deployment to Indian Ocean in autumn

Britain will also establish a maritime partnership with India to support mutual security objectives

As part of its Indo-Pacific focus, the U.K.’s aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth will sail to the Indian Ocean on its maiden operational deployment later this year and will also exercise with the Indian Navy. “As a representation of the ‘Indo-Pacific tilt’ in the U.K.’s foreign policy, the HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier, the largest ship ever built by the Royal Navy, will sail to India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the wider region,” the British High Commission said in a statement on Monday. “The UK’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 2021, led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, will sail to India in the autumn on its maiden operational deployment.” The ship will conduct a series of joint exercises with Indian military forces in the Indian Ocean, “expanding our interoperability and enhancing our capabilities to defend against shared threats and protect our democratic values,” the statement said.