Britain has promised to help transfer advanced technology to produce fighter jets in India — the first concrete attempt by the West to move India away from its dependence on Russian arms.

Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of India, announced the move during a visit to his Indian counterpart Narendra ModiIn New Delhi, last week, India and UK reaffirmed their mutual commitment to cooperation in defense and security matters.

However, details about the project have not been released by U.S. defense publications Defense News reportedThe offer is likely to be related to the U.K.’s sixth-generation Tempest Future Combat Air System (TFACS) program.

An announcement by the U.K. was also made that an open general export license to IndiaTo speed up the procurement of defense materials. This is the first extension of this facility to an outside country.

C. Raja Mohan a visiting researcher at the Institute of South Asian Studies of the National University of Singapore said that the “new system of open general licensing will significantly increase India’s accessibility to U.K. arms and related technologies.”

Johnson announced also that an India-UK trade agreement would be in place by October. The talks on the agreement began in January. However, Johnson did not sign an interim agreement during his visit.

The following are the foreign and defense ministers of the U.S. and India met in WashingtonIn April there had been no mention of the transfer of weapons technology. The two sides only promised to create a “framework to advance cooperation” in critical and emerging technologies — such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors.

Bruce Bennett, an adjunct defense researcher at RAND Corporation (California-based think tank), said the U.S. is gradually coming to terms with China’s economic leverage used for political purposes.

The United States could help allies and their friends if it was serious. But, Russia and China have developed dependence over many decades. Bennett stated to CNBC that turning around this dependence is not going to be possible in just a few months, or even years.

Although India may not immediately cut ties to Russia, Britain’s action will help India’s strategic partnership with the West grow more quickly, Mohan, a professor at NUS, stated. Britain, like the U.S. is keen to lessen India’s dependence and to bring Delhi closer towards the West.

Pravin Sawhney (Indian defense expert, founder of Force,” an Indian defense magazine, rejected the British offer and said it would not be beneficial. India has too many fighter jets and technology transfer restrictions will apply. Russia doesn’t have any such restrictions. He stated that Putin was a “one-stop shop” for India. 

Largest arms importer

India has been diversifying its arms supplies over the last decade and is now the biggest arms importer worldwide.

It will still be a difficult task to replace Russia.  

Russia makes up more than half of Indian weaponry. This means that Russia needs to be able to supply spare parts on a regular basis.

India imported 46%According to SIPRI (a Swedish institute that monitors arms imports and exports all over the globe), Russia supplied 80% of its arms between 2017-2021. The institute reported that France was next at 27%, and the United States at 12%. 

The fourth-place position was held by Israel’s imports. India came in fourth place. 37% of all Israeli arms exportsThis period.

Describing the Indo-Pacific as the “geopolitical center of the world,” Johnson said Britain was pursuing an “Indo-Pacific tilt,” ignoring the questionable human rights record of Modi’s Hindu nationalist government in favor of the West’s geostrategic interests in the Indo-Pacific.

India forms the core of the Indo-Pacific strategy by the West, which is an effort to curb China’s growing belligerence. India is also a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which includes the U.S. and Australia, as well Japan.

India, a nation dependent heavily on Russian weapons, hasn’t joined the Quad partners to condemn Russia’s illegal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine. Nor has it placed sanctions against it.

In reality, India has stepped up its purchasesRussian oil, coal and other commodities in violation of all international sanctions.