Dr Uma Shankar
LUCKNOW / BENGALURU: Two nations, two events, single past and a single future. These words sum up the happenings of this week when India’s relationship with Great Britain graduated to the next level in defence sector.
The events which brought the two nations closer together were the Uttar Pradesh Global Investment Summit (UPGIS 2023) in Lucknow, where the UK was the Partner Country, and the Aero Show in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
While UPGIS 2023 saw the signing of seven memorandums of understanding (MOUs), commitment of 165 million pounds of investment in the state and creation of almost a thousand jobs, the Aero Show witnessed strategic partnership for a jet engine development programme and maritime electric propulsion technology.
A high-level delegation from London, which came to participate in both the shows, was led by UK’s Minister for Defence Procurement Alex Chalk KC. At the UK session in Lucknow on February 12, Chalk termed his visit as a “homecoming” since it was in this state in Uttar Pradesh that he had spent some of his formative years, living and working as a teacher.
‘Create in India’
In Bengaluru for the Aero Show on February 13, the UK delegation spent the week engaging with a range of Indian stakeholders to reiterate their ambition to not only make in India, but also ‘Create in India’. Explaining the vision to make India selfreliant in defence production, Chalk said earlier in Lucknow that Britain will see the largest ever transfer of jet engine technology to any other nation in history.
He shared that this technology will give India sovereign make-in-India intellectual capability, which will ensure that the country joins an exclusive club and becomes the sixth country in the world to acquire this cutting-edge capability. Once acquired, this capability will also empower India to export future fighters on its terms around the world.
Two big partners
Since the turn of the century, no G20 country has invested more in India than Britain. And for its part, India is Britain’s second-biggest jobs creator.
Outlining the trajectory of defence ties between the two countries, Chalk said, “we see with growing clarity where our relationship can go…on land, on sea, and in the air. And even in space and cyber.”
At sea, the crew of UK Navy vessel HMS Tamar visited the Andaman and Nicobar islands in January and exercised with the Indian Navy. UK’s flagship carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, sailed to the Indian Ocean in 2021 and took part in exercise Konkan Shakti, termed by Chalk as the “most demanding bilateral exercise to date”, conducted by all three services from both countries.
Regular joint exercise
In the air, India and the UK conduct regular joint exercise, Indradhanush, with tactics, techniques and procedures being shared between the aviators from both sides. The Royal Air Force (RAF) will welcome the Indian Air Force (IAF) to the UK for exercise Cobra Warrior next month. This will be the first time that the IAF would be participating in the multilateral air combat exercise, which will see participation of air forces from 17 nations.
On the ground, British participation in exercise Ajeya Warrior in India has strengthened interoperability and shared skills in tackling terrorism, and boosting counter-insurgency capability.
At an industrial level too the collaboration is quite extensive. A new Defence Industry Joint Working Group was launched last year. On cyber security there is enhanced partnership and there are regular bilateral consultations on space technology.
There is tremendous scope for both sides to collaborate on electric propulsion technology to power the Indian Navy, and complex weapons systems.
Glorious G20 presidency
Paying glowing tributes to India, Chalk said that he knew early on that India was destined for an extraordinary future. “As well as successfully holding the presidency of the G20, India’s growing economy is accelerating past others, and is already bigger than Britain’s. That trend will only continue. We don’t just acknowledge that – we admire it and we celebrate it,” he said.
Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, said at the UP Summit, “I heard today Prime Minister Modi’s vision to build India’s indigenous defence capabilities; the UK is the right partner to realise that ambition – through sharing knowledge, increasing interoperability, more training and exercising – and through increased industrial collaboration, including through design and make in India.”
The UK is committed to partner with India in its journey towards becoming atmanirbhar in its defence and security needs, he said.
FLYING HIGH
- The British companies which participate in Aero India were: Rolls Royce, BAE Systems, MBDA UK, Thales UK, Leonardo, Smiths Detection, Strongfield Technologies, ASL, Reliance Precision and Ricardo.
- The UK-India Defence Industry Joint Working Group, which held its inaugural meeting at Defence Expo in Gandhinagar last year, is helping accelerate collaboration between the countries, including through the integration of Indian defence suppliers by UK industry into their global supply chain.
- The Royal Navy’s offshore patrol vessel, HMS Tamar, sailed to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 6 January as part of its permanent deployment in the Indo-Pacific. It also conducted a maritime exercise with the Indian Navy. HMS Tamar is one of two Royal Navy vessels on permanent deployment in the Indo-Pacific as set out in the UK’s Integrated Review.
- In September 2022, the Royal Air Force conducted a subject matter expertise exchange with India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) during the visit of Eurofighter Typhoon, Voyager and A400 in New Delhi and also held joint-flying exercises with the Indian Air Force (IAF).
- UK’s first Open General Export Licence (OGEL) in the Indo-Pacific was issued to India last year. The OGEL helps reduce bureaucracy and shorten delivery times for defence procurement.