The United Kingdom’s Minister of State for Defence, Vernon Coaker, said on Sunday (February 16, 2025) that his country will be a reliable partner for India “now and in the future”. He further emphasised that the new Defence Partnership – India (DP-I), a dedicated programme office within the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence, demonstrated that from the U.K.’s perspective, “we should do more with India”.
At Aero India in Bengaluru last week, India and the U.K. announced a series of joint ventures and initiatives in the defence domain, which he termed as practical steps in this direction.
The DP-I located in London will serve as a one-stop shop for strengthening bilateral defence collaboration between the two countries. “Co-production is the way India is looking and we want to be part of that,” Mr. Coaker, responsible for international relations and diplomacy, said in a conversation with The Hindu at Aero India. “India is a sovereign country and it will make its decisions in its best interest… My coming here is a statement by the U.K. government that we are a reliable partner both now and in the future…,”
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Referring to the various announcements made at the air show as “initial numbers”, the visiting Minister said the cooperation and the numbers will only grow.
At the Aero India, Thales U.K. and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) had signed a contract for Laser Beam Riding Man-portable Air Defence Systems (LBRMs), with an initial batch of STARStreak high-velocity missiles and launchers to be delivered to the Indian Army this year as part of the deal. The two companies also announced a collaboration to produce Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMMs). Further, MBDA U.K. and BDL are working on the installation of a first-of-its-kind Advanced Short-Range Air to Air Missile (ASRAAM) assembly and test facility in Hyderabad, which can also cater to exports.
Meanwhile, General Electric (GE) Vernova is developing a full-electric propulsion system for India’s next generation of Land Platform Docks (LPD) and will develop a land-based test facility in India. “That’s the whole point of strengthening India’s ability to develop these projects and programmes by themselves,” Mr. Coaker noted. This is in partnership with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) with the facility to be set up in Hyderabad to deliver the LPDs in water by 2030.
Towards this, India and the U.K. signed a Statement of Intent. These initiatives build manufacturing capability in India and fits with the overall objective of achieving self reliance, the Minister observed.
The U.K. carrier strike group is set to be on deployment to the Indian Ocean this year during which it is scheduled to visit India. To a question on larger maritime cooperation, Mr. Coaker said one important aspect for India is that those who threaten the freedom of navigation of the seas should understand it is in no one’s interest. “It is not in India’s interests, not in U.K.’s interest, not in anybody’s interest. The international rules-based order is something that India stands for, we stand for that as well,” Mr. Coaker added. In this regard, he flagged intelligence sharing as a major focus area and that discussions were going on.
The Minister stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his U.K. counterpart Keir Starmer actually agreed to refresh the comprehensive strategic partnership, referring to their meeting in November 2024 on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Brazil, where the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment for the partnership.
In January, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a telephonic conversation with U.K. Secretary of State for Defence John Healey during which the two reviewed the “excellent progress” made in niche defence technology areas and also discussed the ongoing defence cooperation issues.
The ASRAAM missiles are to be mounted on the IAF’s Jaguar and LCA fighters and are in service with half a dozen countries.
