Minister: UK will always back India

• The DP-I, located in London, will serve as a one-stop shop for strengthening bilateral defence collaboration.

• Thales U.K. and Bharat Dynamics Limited 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.

• The two companies also announced a collaboration to produce Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMMs).

• 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.

• General Electric 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.

• The initiatives build manufacturing capability in India and fit with the overall objective of achieving self-reliance.

• The U.K. carrier strike group is set to be on deployment to the Indian Ocean this year.