1 November 2025, NIICE Commentary 1890
Lipun Kumar Sanbad
The changing defence diplomacy of India in late 2025 is a pivotal point in the overall reconsideration of the foreign policy of this country, with two historic events being the signing of a 10-year Framework Agreement on Defence Cooperation with the United States and a PS350 million deal with the United Kingdom to purchase missiles. Both these concurrent tracks demonstrate how India has a strategic interest in diversifying its defence relations, enhancing technological cooperation, and having independence in a changing world order of power balance. The agreements signed in October 2025 are the result of Indian effort to maintain the traditional dependence on the supplies of Russian defence resources with the extension of its interaction with the Western partners, in particular, the U.S. and the U.K. The joint agreements can be taken as an indication of Indian desire to establish itself as a central security player in the Indo-Pacific, stimulate the development of the domestic defence sector, and integrate into the global technology and innovation hubs.
The India–U.S. 10-Year Defence Framework Agreement
The United States and India signed a Framework of the U.S.-India Major Defence Partnership on October 31, 2025, at the 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Kuala Lumpur. It was signed by the minister of defence, Rajnath Singh, and the secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, which has provided a future roadmap of defence cooperation over the upcoming 10 years. The framework offers common policy guidance according to the official communique in order to enhance cooperation in the major fields of joint exercises, sharing of intelligence, industrial cooperation, and exchange of defensive technology. Both countries once again pledged to maintain the momentum of bilateral defence interactions despite the recent tensions raised by the imposition of 50% tariffs on Indian products, including a 25% duty on the purchases of Russian oil and weaponry by the U.S administration. In a tweet by the U.S. Defence Secretary, the deal was mentioned as improving coordination, information sharing, and technological cooperation, as well as enhancing regional stability and deterrence. The agreement was envisioned as the message of the strategic convergence between the two democracies, the idea of the common aim to keep the Indo-Pacific free, open, and rule-based, which is reflected in the official statements of the U.S. and India.
Political Context and Strategic Deliberations
The agreement comes amidst the bilateral relations, which have been put to the test by the U.S. trade actions and the Indian sensitivity towards the reaction of President Trump regarding his contributions to the end of the war with Pakistan. Analysts like Pramit Pal Chaudhuri of Eurasia Group pointed out that the framework had initially been planned to be deployed in mid-2025, but it had been postponed because of diplomatic discomfort. Strategically, the agreement unites a 10-year history of India-U.S. defence convergence, which started with the agreements of foundations being signed (LEMOA, COMCASA, and BECA). The new framework, however, extends beyond operational logistics with cooperation in technology co-development, cyber defence, and joint innovation ecosystems institutionalised. The assertion by Hegseth that India is still a priority partner of the Washington view is a continuation of U.S. strategy thinking, which views India as a counterbalance to Chinese activism in the Indo-Pacific.
India–U.K. Strategic Deepening: Defence Industrial Collaboration
Meanwhile, with the U.S. agreement, India also finalised a PS350 million ($468 million) missile purchase agreement with the United Kingdom upon the prime minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, making an official visit to India between October 8-9, 2025. The Indian Army was involved in the purchase of Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM) manufactured by Thales in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This deal, signed by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Keir Starmer. The contract is a milestone in a new age of India-U.K. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which is grounded on the India-U.K. Defence Industrial Roadmap adopted earlier in the year 2025. The British government emphasised that the agreement would save 700 jobs in Northern Ireland, but to India, it is a win in its Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) defence programme. In addition to the missile deal, the two nations also signed a PS250 million Implementing Arrangement to further enhance cooperation on electric-powered naval propulsion systems, an area of importance in both countries to build their own ships and achieve economical power consumption at sea.
Technological and Industrial Dimensions
The India-U.K. defence partnership has now expanded to complex weapon development, electric propulsion, and air defence, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. The two countries also declared their intention to establish government-to-government channels in future of acquiring additional missile systems, which is a long-term strategic confidence. The partnership is also of a technological nature. The LMM systems also offer the ability to engage multiple targets, both airborne and land-based, and this enhances the short-range air defence system in India. As Defence Watch noted, the agreement boosts the operational preparedness of India and the cooperation between Thales and Indian defence companies in the area of innovation. Also, the MEA joint statement ensured that the flight instructors of the Indian Air Force will shortly be members of the Royal Air Force training courses, and that both parties will also conclude an Inter-Governmental Agreement on maritime electric propulsion of the Indian naval platforms. These developments highlight that the bilateral focus is on mutual R&D and capacity-building and not just buyer-seller interests.
Broader Economic and Diplomatic Outcomes
The defence aspect is an addition to a larger economic and technological integration between the United Kingdom and India. According to MEA, 64 Indian firms also vowed to invest PS1.3 billion in the U.K. during the same visit, which indicated that the capital flows between the two countries were becoming stronger. The missile sale and naval propulsion agreement is therefore within the greater ecosystem of trade, investment, and innovation relationships. The partnership, in the case of the U.K., is an export opportunity as well as a strategic toehold in the Indo-Pacific, which is part of a London post-Brexit tilt towards the region. In the case of India, the relationship expands the diversification and access to advanced technology in the supply chain, and co-production possibilities in defence production. On the political front, the Modi-Starmer relationship was characterised by equality before the commitment to counterterrorism, maritime security and multilateral reform. The two leaders also unitedly denounced the April 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack, and they established greater cooperation in the intelligence sharing and counter-radicalisation.
India’s Defence Balancing Strategy
Combined with the U.K. and U.S agreement, these two portray the conscious approach of multi-alignment by India- to manage to involve as many as there are Western powers at the same time and to operate independently. Although this aggravates U.S. concerns that India still buys discounted Russian oil, New Delhi has managed to separate its economic and strategic interactions. This balancing mechanism also enables India to tap into a variety of defence technologies of various suppliers without being overdependent on a specific bloc. It also helps India to realise its desire to be a world defence manufacturing centre, as demonstrated by its growing defence exports and local procurement goal. The U.S. model is majorly strategic and policy-based, based on interoperability and deterrence, whereas the U.K. deal is operational and industrial, which is focused on the transfer of technology and production partnerships. They both, however, merge in furthering the Indian vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and strengthening its position in the Indo-Pacific strategic architecture.
Benefits and Future Prospects for India
The implication of these defence engagements is long-term procurement or coordination. There are three significant opportunities and advantages: First, Technological Revitalisation and Self-Sustenance; By teaming with the U.S. and U.K. defence companies, India can access high-tech technologies, including missile systems, naval propulsion, and cyber and AI-driven military systems, among others. These partnerships facilitate mutual R&D and local innovation and thus enhance the defence industrial base of India. Second, Operational Readiness and Strategic Deterrence: The U.K. purchase of LMM and increased interoperability in the U.S. serve in India to increase its capacity to react to multi-domain threats. The structures buttress India's maritime security posture in the Indo-Pacific, and this goes in line with the wider move to ensure freedom of navigation and stability of deterrence. Third Diplomatic Leverage and Global Positioning; By aligning defence relations with Washington and London, India strengthens its position as an interim between the forces of the West and the Global South. These alliances enhance the Indian voice in multilateral organisations like the United Nations, G20, and the Commonwealth, and they are guaranteed to have diversified strategic choices in the context of polarisation in the world. In the future, the U.S. paradigm can serve as the means of co-producing more sophisticated technologies, such as stealth aircraft and drone vehicles, and the U.K. partnership can become a joint complex weapons programme, which will allow India to become a better integrated part of global defence supply chains.
Conclusion
All these interactions with the United States and the United Kingdom in defence in the year 2025 are a major shift in the security policy of India. They do not only mean the presence of transactional cooperation, but a strategic compulsion, based on mutual trust, technological interchange and shared geopolitical interests. The U.S. deal offers a more organised institutional platform for future cooperation, whereas the U.K. deal offers concrete industrial and technological benefits. They both form the basis of India as a trusted defence partner and security provider within the Indo-Pacific. It is the pragmatic nature of its involvement, balancing between the various alliances and focusing on self-reliance, that has shown that India is increasingly becoming a mature international power with the capability to influence regional peace and pursue its national interests.
Lipun Kumar Sanbad is a Research Intern at NIICE completed his MA in Politics and International Studies from Pondicherry University, India.
