Defence Technologies & Innovation Summit

In his recent visit to India, on 21 and 22 April 2022, the Prime Minister of the UK, Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, along with the Prime Minister of India, Hon Narendra Modi, highlighted the commitment to transform Defence & Security cooperation between the two countries, a key pillar of the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This took place through the finalisation of a Letter of Arrangement between the UK’s DSTL and India’s DRDO, the establishment of a Joint Working Group on India-UK Electric Propulsion Capability Partnership, collaboration on a modern fighter aircraft and jet engine advanced core technology and the UK’s announcement of an India-specific ‘open general export license’ for the export of equipment and emerging technologies to India to “reduce bureaucracy and shorten delivery times”.

One of the most significant aspects noted by the two leaders in the joint statement was the “importance of robust defence industrial collaboration for manufacturing of defence equipment, systems, spare parts, components, aggregates and other related products and key capabilities, under the Make-in-India program through co-development, indigenisation, transfer of technology and setting up of joint ventures for meeting the needs of the Armed Forces of India and other countries”

The Defence Technologies & Innovation Summit will be the first landmark event after the UK PM’s visit to India and will bring together senior stakeholders from India and the UK to identify and accelerate tangible opportunities and facilitate delivery for co-creation, co-development and co-production of arms and equipment by entities in both countries.

Business and Government leaders from India and the UK met for the first time at the India Global Forum in April 2021 to discuss this partnership. Since then, the India-UK Defence Boardroom has met three times with co-creation as the primary focus (in addition to other topical action points raised) of these meetings. The Defence Technologies & Innovation Summit will also bring together the lessons from a year’s worth of deliberations by Members of this Boardroom Initiative.