UK Navy helicopter 'opens fire' as part of operations off coast of India

A Royal Navy helicopter has opened fire as part of a live weapons exercise off the coast of India.

Launched from the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, the 815 Air Squadron Wildcat took part in drills as part of Operation Highmast.

The drills form part of Operation Highmast, the UK's flagship naval deployment for 2025.

The eight-month operation sees the deployment of the UK's Carrier Strike Group and 4,500 military personnel to the Indo-Pacific region, conducting drills in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and East Asia.

Units from the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and British Army, alongside allied nations, take part in the operation, designed to showcase the UK's commitment to the region as tensions continue to mount.

Of the aforementioned British 4,500 personnel, 2,500 are Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines, with 600 RAF personnel and 900 soldiers as well.

The maritime AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat helicopter is primarily tasked with anti-surface warfare, force protection, and reconnaissance for the Royal Navy.

The craft is kitted with a series of mission systems including radar, electro-optical sensors, and the ability to carry Martlet and Sea Venom missiles, also used by the French Navy.

Wildcats also feature door-mounted machine guns, and lightweight torpedoes to be used depending on the given mission, acting as an extension of the ship's sensors and weapons systems.

Highmast is the second deployment of the UK's carrier strike group, with its other aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, leading the initial mission in 2021.

The carrier vessels are designed to carry up to 40 aircraft each, with accompanying surface ships in the strike group, and submarines, providing protection from air, surface and below-surface threats.

Personnel from Norway, Canada and Spain have assisted as part of the operation as it progresses into the Indo-Pacific theatre.

The strike group is made up of the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless, Royal Navy frigate HMS Richmond, Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker RFA Tidespring, and allied ships including the Norwegian frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen, the tanker HNoMS Maud, and the Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Québec.

Until December, the group will continue to carry out a series of exercises and operations with air, sea and land elements from a dozen allied nations, covering the Mediterranean, Middle East, South-east Asia, Japan and Australia.