India-UK defence cooperation set to deepen with new technology agreements
India and the UK are reportedly close to signing defence agreements covering electric propulsion for Indian Navy ships and Martlet missile production. The UK is also pursuing a larger role in India's defence sector, including the race to develop an engine for the AMCA
New Delhi: India and the United Kingdom (UK) are close to signing two inter-governmental agreements for the incorporation of electric propulsion on Indian Navy ships and the production of Marlet lightweight multirole missiles (LMM) as part of the steps toward forging long-term defence industrial cooperation and deepening the bilateral strategic partnership, according to an article.
The inter-government agreement (IGA) aims to develop and incorporate integrated full electric propulsion (IFEP) for the Indian Navy’s four landing platform docks (LPDs) for which a separate tender is underway, the article in The Diplomat said.
Apart from this, the Indian Navy is targeting a 200-ship force by 2035 in response to the expanding Chinese naval fleet and presence in the Indian Ocean Region. Some existing ships could also be converted from diesel to electric propulsion.
The UK has also entered the race for the design and development of a jet engine to power the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA), India’s fifth-generation fighter.
India is looking for a global partner for the design and development of a 120kN jet engine to power the AMCA-Mk2. While negotiations between Safran of France and the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) have been ongoing for several years now, the delay opened prospects for the UK’s Rolls Royce and the US’ General Electric.
Rolls Royce has presented an offer that includes full control over Intellectual Property for the engine once it is developed.
On August 14, Rolls Royce announced a partnership with Reliance Industries Limited to explore the formation of a dedicated Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex that will be a centre of excellence for power and propulsion technology in India. This significantly ups the ante in support of its offer.
Last year, India and the UK made several important announcements on the defence front.
At Aero India in February 2025, the UK announced the formal launch of “Defence Partnership–India”, or DP-I, a dedicated cell within the UK’s Ministry of Defence for deepening cooperation.
A contract for laser beam riding Starstreak Man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS) was also signed between Thales UK and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) under the Emergency Procurement route for 16 launchers, 56 missiles, and a simulator worth around $35 million. This could potentially expand to thousands of missiles in future.
The expanding military-to-military cooperation, joint exercises and research collaborations add to the broadening cooperation.
Another important binding factor is overlapping concerns and converging interests in the Indo-Pacific, where the UK sees India as one of the most important stabilising forces.
“With this slew of agreements, Britain is looking to regain lost space in India’s growing defence sector. For India, the UK is one of the important stabilising vectors in its multilateral alignment strategy to safeguard its interests,” the article said.
The strengthening relations between the two countries are also reflected in the conclusion of the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which came into effect on July 15 this year amid the US tariff turmoil and changing geopolitical landscape.
