&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "India signs $468 million defence deal to get UK-made lightweight missiles")
India and the United Kingdom (UK), on Thursday (Oct 9), signed a $468 million defence deal under their Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) which was signed in July earlier this year. The deal was signed when the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is on a visit to India, met India Prime Minister Narendra Modi Mumbai. The latest deal is being seen as part of the two countries deepening ties in weapons and defence sector as well as the UK's push to its defence sector to drive higher economic growth.
What is India-UK defence deal?
Under the $468 million defence deal, India will get UK-made lightweight missiles which will manufactured by Thales. The new contract will help being in 700 jobs at the manufacturer's Northern Ireland factory as well as improve India's defence capabilities.
"The contract is set to deliver UK-manufactured Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM) built in Belfast to the Indian Army, representing another significant boost for the UK defence industry and delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change,” the UK Ministry of Defence said.
The Indian government also issued a joint statement on the deal which highlighted that it will 'improve India's air defence capabilities' and 'meet the current and future requirements' of India's Ministry of Defence.
What are these lightweight missiles and what else will India get?
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The lightweight missiles which India will get, also known as LMMs (Lightweight Multirole Missiles), are available in air-to-surface, air-to-air, surface-to-air, and surface-to-surface options. They are called Martlet by the manufacturer, a mythical bird from English heraldry which never roosts. The UK also supplies the same missiles to Ukraine as well.
The British government, as reported by news agency Reuters, also said that it has signed a a new phase of another deal pertaining to electric-powered engines for naval ships, worth $332 million.
