NEW DELHI: In an impressive milestone towards strengthening India-United Kingdom (UK) bilateral military relationship, the UK Navy warships will undergo maintenance and repair at Indian dockyards.
“The Littoral Response Group plans to conduct maritime exercises with the Indian Navy soon. Once the exercise gets over, the warships will be docked for maintenance and repair in India,” sources said.
Last year, the Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft had carried out refuelling twice at the Indian air bases. It included the four Typhoons and one Voyager, making a refuelling stop in Hyderabad in September 2023, in a sign of a deepening military partnership between India and the United Kingdom. The RAF is the UK’s air and space force.
The US Navy has been the first force which got its ships undergo repairs in India with the US Navy Ship (USNS) Charles Drew undergoing repair and allied services in Chennai in August 2022. USNS Matthew Perry was the second ship of the US Navy to complete maintenance works in India in March 2023. On Wednesday, the British High Commission (BHC) had confirmed the plans to send the UK’s high-readiness Littoral Response Group to Indian Ocean Region in 2024, and the Carrier Strike Group in 2025 for a joint training.
“Deployment of the UK’s most advanced naval capabilities mark a decisive step in bolstering UK-India security ties.” said BHC. The statement was made while Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was in the UK becoming the first to visit the UK after George Fernandes in 2002.
These steps build on the comprehensive strategic partnership envisaged in the 2030 India-UK roadmap. It was in May 2021, that the then British PM Boris Johnson and PM Narendra Modi adopted an ambitious ‘Roadmap 2030’ to elevate bilateral ties to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’.
“In the coming years, the UK and India will also embark on more complex exercises between their respective militaries, building up to a landmark joint exercise to be conducted before the end of 2030,” said BHC.