Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Chief of defence staff general Anil Chauhan is currently on a three-day visit to Britain to deepen military cooperation and boost defence industry partnerships between India and the UK.This is the first official visit by an Indian CDS to Britain and marks the fifth senior UK-India military engagement this year, following the UK Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth’s visit to India in March.“General Anil Chauhan, chief of defence staff CDS on an official visit to the UK, was accorded a Ceremonial Step Line and received by Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, UK CDS, underscoring a strong, future-ready India-UK defence partnership. He also interacted with Mr Vikram K Doraiswami, High Commissioner of India to the UK,” Headquarters of Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) posted on X.“The visit will further deepen defence cooperation and will advance defence industrial & intelligence collaboration, cyber cooperation, strategic communication and joint exercises. This visit reinforces a shared commitment to global security, stability and resilience,” the IDS further stated.Representatives of the British defence industry are scheduled to meet General Chauhan to progress talks on greater defence co-production between the two countries.“General Chauhan’s landmark visit shows the trust and ambition driving the UK-India defence partnership. We are stepping up cooperation to strengthen interoperability, spur innovation and support a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific,” said Lindy Cameron, the British High Commissioner to India. “From joint training and defence industry cooperation to strategic dialogue, we are moving faster and closer, because India is a key defence partner for the UK. We will continue to build on this momentum in the months ahead,” she said.In Feb, the UK and India signed an agreement for the IAF to deploy three qualified flying instructors to the Royal Air Force (RAF) Valley in the UK, the training base for British fast-jet pilots. Indian officers are embedded as instructors across all three UK service academies.The visits follow India and the UK launching a 10-year defence industrial roadmap under the Vision 2035 agreement to support growth, strengthen security and contribute to international stability.
