Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced a series of landmark collaborations between India and the United Kingdom during a joint statement with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is on an official visit to India. In his address, following bilateral discussions with his British counterpart, Prime Minister Modi highlighted new initiatives in the areas of education, defence, and people-to-people engagement.
Emphasising the growing defence partnership between the two nations, Prime Minister Modi stated that India and the UK are moving towards defence co-production, further linking their defence industries. He added that an agreement on military training has been signed, under which Indian Air Force flying instructors will serve as trainers with the Royal Air Force of the UK, marking a significant step in strengthening bilateral defence cooperation.
Further, on the same day, the UK government announced that it had signed a £350 million (around $468 million) contract to supply the Indian Army with UK-manufactured lightweight missiles. The agreement marks another step in the growing defence and weapons partnership between the two countries.
The following are a few Indian defence stocks with existing ties to the UK that could benefit as both nations move towards deeper defence co-production:
Bharat Dynamics Limited
With a market cap of Rs. 55,756 crores, the stock closed at Rs. 1,521.05 on BSE, up by around 2 percent on Thursday. In August 2021, Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and MBDA UK signed a licensing agreement to establish a facility in India for the Final Assembly, Integration, and Testing (FAIT) of Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles (ASRAAM).
In February 2025, India and the United Kingdom agreed to expand collaboration on next-generation weapons in partnership with Thales and BDL. As part of this collaboration, Thales and BDL signed a contract to supply Laser Beam Riding Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (LBRM), including an initial batch of High Velocity Missiles (STARStreak) and launchers scheduled for delivery this year.
Following this initial LBRM contract, Thales and BDL will further work together to produce Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM). The initiative aims to deepen industrial collaboration between the two countries and strengthen BDL’s role within Thales’ global supply network.
Bharat Forge Limited
With a market cap of Rs. 57,805.7 crores, the stock closed at Rs. 1,209.1 on BSE, up by around 2 percent on Thursday. Bharat Forge International Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharat Forge, is based in England, United Kingdom. The subsidiary is engaged in the business of trading forged and machined components for the automotive and industrial sectors, and reported a revenue of Rs. 3,197.6 crore as of March 2025.
In September 2025, the company entered into an agreement with the UK-based autonomous cargo drone manufacturer Windracers Limited to collaborate on the deployment, localisation and application of the Windracers’ Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) ULTRA across India.
The MoU was signed between the two companies at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) UK 2025 exhibition and conference in London. The partnership aligned with both companies’ broader aerospace growth strategies, aiming to advance UAV capabilities in India while fostering innovation, technology transfer, and strategic aerospace applications in the defence sector.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
With a market cap of Rs. 3.24 lakh crores, the stock closed at Rs. 4,846.25 on BSE, up by around 1.2 percent on Thursday. HAL is strengthening its presence in the global defence and aerospace market through a growing portfolio of exports. The company supplies aircraft such as the H-228 to Guyana and the Do-228 to Seychelles and Mauritius, as well as helicopters to Nepal, Maldives, Mauritius, Suriname, and Namibia. HAL has also exported ring forgings of super alloys to the UK and USA, and Su-30 avionics to Malaysia.
During FY25, HAL recorded around a 29 percent increase in exports compared to the previous financial year. To further strengthen its export capabilities, the company participated in several prominent international air and defence exhibitions, including the Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2024 in Malaysia and, Farnborough International Air Show (FIA) 2024 in the UK.
Bharat Electronics Limited
With a market cap of Rs. 2.99 lakh crores, the stock closed at Rs. 409.4 on BSE, up by around 1.4 percent on Thursday. In September 2022, BEL signed a 5-year MoU with Smiths Detection, a London-based threat detection and security inspection technology company, to offer advanced, high-energy scanning systems to the Indian market. The agreement can be extended further by mutual consent.
In FY25, BEL’s exports business recorded steady growth, with sales surpassing $106.17 million. The company’s products continued to gain traction in multiple international markets, including France, the USA, Spain, Israel, China, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, ASEAN countries, the UK, and Sweden, among others.
Written by Shivani Singh
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