UK wants to help India build 'war-winning fighter jets'

By Anish Kumar | First Published Apr 22, 2022, 4:58 PM IST

UK PM Boris Johnson pitched for extending support to construct a new Indian-designed and built fighter aircraft and a licence for faster deliveries of defence procurement.

Aimed at dissuading India from relying on Russia over its defence needs, the United Kingdom under Prime Minister Boris Johnson is offering New Delhi 'know-how to build war-winning fighter jets' during his meeting with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in the national capital on April 22.

During his meeting with Prime Minister Modi, Boris pitched for extending support to construct a new Indian-designed and built fighter aircraft and a licence for faster deliveries of defence procurement.

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Currently, India is operating British-origin Jaguar fighter aircraft which were procured after the Indian Air Force placed a billion-dollar order for 40 fighter aircraft and license to build 120 aircraft at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

In a bid to deepen its defence and security ties with New Delhi, London will issue an Open General Export Licence which help in reducing bureaucracy and shortening delivery times for defence equipment.

The United Kingdom is planning to issue the license in the coming decade. India will be the first country in the Indo-Pacific region to receive it.

The UK also wants to support India's requirements for new technology to identify and respond to threats in the Indian Ocean.

Johnson, who was scheduled to visit India last year but had to postpone his trip amidst the surging Covid-19 cases in his country and here too.

The United States and the European Nations have been trying hard to move India away from Russia in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Kyiv that began on February 24 and is still going on. India imports almost 69 per cent of its military hardware equipment from Russia and it also has major defence platforms that were procured from them.

Despite the looming threat of CAATSA from the United States, India went ahead and procured the S-400 air defence system from Russia worth Rs 3500 crore. Besides, it has also signed a raft of defence deals with Moscow.

In his meeting with Modi, Johnson discussed next-generation defence and security collaboration across the five domains - land, sea, air, space and cyber.

"Our governments are committing up to £75 million to roll out adaptable clean tech innovations from India to the wider Indo-Pacific and Africa, and working together on international development and girls education," Boris Johnson said.

In the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, a number of dignitaries from major global power have visited India despite the Narendra Modi government refusing to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. India has been maintaining that it calls for resolving the crisis through dialogue and diplomacy.

Besides, New Delhi has also continued to purchase Russian energy, reasoning that European countries have been buying more than what it has been buying.

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