India, UK ink $468mn deal for supply of lightweight missiles

Britain has secured a £350-million deal to supply missile systems to India, enhancing defense cooperation during PM Starmer's visit to Mumbai.

Published on: Oct 10, 2025, 04:10:09 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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A statement from Britain’s defence ministry said the contract envisages the delivery of air defence missiles and launchers, made by Thales at Belfast in Northern Ireland, to the Indian Army. (PM India)

Britain announced on Thursday it had concluded a £350-million ($468 million) deal with India to supply lightweight multirole missile (LMM) systems to the Indian Army as part of efforts to forge a broader complex weapons partnership.

The development came during UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Mumbai for a meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, and defence and security cooperation was a key part of their discussions. The two leaders met as a UK carrier strike group participated in the Konkan 2025 exercise with the Indian Navy in the waters off the country’s western coast.

A statement from Britain’s defence ministry said the contract envisages the delivery of air defence missiles and launchers, made by Thales at Belfast in Northern Ireland, to the Indian Army. The deal will give a significant boost to the British defence industry and secure 700 jobs at a factory that currently makes the same weapons for Ukraine.

The statement described India as a key strategic partner and said: “The deal paves the way for a broader complex weapons partnership between the UK and India, currently under negotiation between the two governments.”

There was no readout on the deal from the Indian side, though a joint statement issued after the meeting between Modi and Starmer said the leaders announced a government-to-government agreement for “an initial supply of lightweight multirole missile (LMM) systems” to support India’s air defence capabilities. This deal will meet current and future requirements of India’s defence ministry and support long-term collaboration on complex weapons.

Foreign secretary Vikram Misri told a media briefing that the two PMs reviewed cooperation in the defence sector and discussed collaboration in electric propulsion systems for Indian warships. They also reviewed the implementation of a defence industrial roadmap unveiled in July, he said.

The UK defence ministry’s statement said the two countries also signed an “implementing arrangement” to advance collaboration on electric-powered engines for naval ships, with the deal worth an initial £250 million ($333 million). The two sides had been engaged in discussions on developing electric propulsions systems for the past few years.

Starmer hailed the deals as an example of the growing strategic partnership between India and the UK. British defence secretary John Healey said the deals would pave the way for a deeper relationship between the defence industries of the two sides, especially in air defence and for developing electric engines for naval ships.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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