Terming the need for strong relations between India and the U.K. “mission critical”, U.K. Minister for Defence Procurement Alex Chalk pitched for collaboration in high-end defence technologies, including jet engine technology, which, he said, were essential to preserve territorial integrity and to stand up for the international rules-based order of which India was an important part of. He also pitched for cooperation in supply chain resilience, which had been brought to the fore in the war in Ukraine, and India’s strengths in it.
The jet engine cooperation proposal put forward by Rolls Royce was the best “out there” and “most cost-effective” that “would set India apart,” Mr. Chalk told a small group of journalists at Aero India in Bengaluru. “The context is the security context out you find yourselves in. You have the presence in a difficult backyard of China which we understand. So we recognise that a strong, independent, sovereign and capable India is essential to preserve its territorial integrity and to stand up for the international rules-based order. India is an important part of this international rules-based order. But to uphold that order you need strong defence capabilities that is the context for this very significant step we are taking here in India.”
On jet engine cooperation, for which India is evaluating co-development proposals from three global engine manufacturers, the visiting Minister said, “What the U.K. committed is our biggest ever capability transfer in our history. We would be providing more capability than to any other ally, — a G7 country, G20 country or 5-eyes country.”
Sixth country
Elaborating, Mr. Chalk said, it means ensuring that the engine which is co-created, built to its specifications, if India were to export it to someone else or use it in a specific way, it is entirely up to India. “There are currently five nations on the planet that have this technology and India would be the sixth one and it will be sovereign Make in India. And this is the best technology out there,” he stressed.
In addition to the conversation on jet engine, there are lot of other capability cooperation that is under discussion, he said, which includes missiles, infantry tactics, interoperability and maritime cooperation. “If the Rolls Royce deal goes ahead, sky is the limit in terms of future jet engine technology… We see this as a pivotal moment in India-U.K. relations, we have gone further and faster than ever before and see this as the beginning of a really special defence relationship.”
On further agencies of cooperation, Mr. Chalk said Ukraine war had taught that they need to have a hard look at the size of reserves and supply chain resilience. This, he said, presented an opportunity for India and the U.K. to cooperate with India’s capacities and have example their need for deeper ammunition stores in future than they have now.
Next month, the Indian Air Force will join multilateral exercise Cobra Warrior hosted by the Royal Air Force. 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, the Minister added.
