The Labour-led UK government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) of June 2025 emphasised a ‘NATO first’, but not a ‘NATO only’, policy, minus the tilt towards the Indo-Pacific which was the hallmark of the previous, Conservative-led government. The review, however, recognised India’s presence on the global stage and sought to deepen the bilateral defence relationship. The UK government’s subsequent National Security Strategy of June 2025 emphasised this intent, stating that ‘India is a country with which we seek a genuine strategic partnership’.
Since June 2024, there has been a flurry of significant bilateral defence and trade developments, providing momentum towards the next stage of the India–UK defence industry partnership. In July 2024, then-UK foreign secretary David Lammy, on his first official visit to India, launched the landmark UK–India Technology Security Initiative (TSI), fostering collaboration on critical and emerging technologies, including minerals, artificial intelligence, quantum and semiconductors. In February 2025, the UK’s Defence Partnership-India (DP-I) was launched intended to boost defence collaboration and support India’s domestic manufacturing ambition known as Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). In April 2025, the UK–India defence-industrial roadmap was signed, signalling an ambition to jointly design, develop and produce defence products.
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