India and the United Kingdom took a significant step in strengthening their defence cooperation with the official launch of Defence Partnership–India (DP-I) on Monday at Aero India 2025 in Bengaluru.
Taking one more step towards strengthening their strategic partnership, the UK and India formally launched Defence Partnership–India (DP-I) on Monday and signed several defence agreements at the ‘Aero India 2025’ in Bengaluru.
Announcing DP-I, Defence Minister Lord Vernon Coaker opened the UK-India Defence Partnership Pavilion, establishing a dedicated programme office within the UK’s Ministry of Defence that will serve as a one-stop shop for strengthening bilateral defence collaboration between the two countries, according to a press statement.
“The UK and India have today agreed to expand their collaboration on next-generation weapons with Thales and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL),” it said.
British company Thales and Indian Public Sector Undertaking Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) signed a contract that will deliver Laser Beam Riding MANPADs (LBRM), with an initial supply of High-Velocity Missiles (STARStreak) and launchers to be delivered this year.
The statement said that this contract represents an important next step for UK-Indian defence cooperation in the critical area of air defence.
“It was a pleasure to visit India and continue to grow our already strong defence relationship. Our Defence Partnership and the UK-India Defence Partnership Pavilion will help strengthen our cooperation further, supporting economic growth in both our countries and India’s Atmanirbhar ambition,” said Lord Coaker.
“This event showcases our collaboration in next-generation capability and the massive potential the UK and India can unlock by working together,” he added.
After signing this initial LBRM contract, Thales and BDL will further collaborate to produce Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM).
This develops and expands the partnership between Indian and British industries, laying the foundation for BDL and Indian industries to form an integral part of Thales’ global supply chain.
It will address mutual security concerns, create jobs in both countries, and enable the interoperability of both armies.
Lindy Cameron, British High Commissioner to India, said: “India is taking significant steps in its journey to become Atmanirbhar in its defence capabilities. The UK is looking forward to working with India as a partner of choice in supporting this ambition: collaborating on defence technologies lies at the heart of this. These are landmark agreements that support our economic growth and joint security.”
In a separate development, MBDA UK and BDL have been working together on the installation of a first-of-its-kind Advanced Short-Range Air to Air Missile (ASRAAM) assembly and test facility in Hyderabad, arming the current fleet of India’s fighter jets as well as exporting to the world.
The UK and India have signed a Statement of Intent on the maritime front to design and develop an Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) system for India’s next-generation Landing Platform Dock (LPD) fleet.
As the following steps, GE Vernova and BHEL are working to develop India’s first maritime Land Based Testing Facility to deliver LPD in the water by 2030.
Strengthening the UK-India partnership will directly support India’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ ambition and deliver the UK Government’s growth agenda and Plan for Change.
