Is India Becoming a Tempest Partner?

Johnson in New Delhi:

The British Prime Minister is an active politician. He has appeared in both Ukraine and India in the past week. He said to Zelenksky, "We are with you", and to Modi, "Let's act together in the Indo-Pacific region, you are not doomed to China and Russia!"

England draws a profile of a country that goes ahead of American politics and takes pioneering steps in its political expansions. Before the start of the Russia-Ukraine War, it is known that British warships appeared in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, exhibited actions that escalated the tension with the Russians, and even Russia fired warning shots on the grounds that the British ship HMS Defender approached the Crimea on 23 June 2021. .

The UK, which signed the AUKUS formation together with the USA and Australia on September 15, 2021, started to follow a policy that gives special importance to India in the Indo-Pacific region. In historical perspective, the British started commercial contacts with Indian society from 1612, and finally by 1803 all of India except the Punjab region had become a colony of the British Empire. When the Indians gained their independence in 1947 under the leadership of Gandhi, they could not prevent Pakistan and then Bangladesh from breaking away from them.

Despite everything, New Delhi, which has adopted the British culture to a certain extent; He always took care to be in close contact with London, and there was no trace of hostility between the two countries. Indeed, during Johnson's visit last week, New Delhi and London mutually agreed to increase cooperation in the fields of defense and security, which is expected to serve as an important lever for bilateral relations.

Indian Defense Industry:

India is a country focused on developing its own defense industry, especially the aerospace industry. India, which mainly supplies Russian weapons (46% of total purchases according to 2021 SIPRI data) besides Western weapon systems, acts with the desire to diversify its imports in the field of defense, similar to its purchase of Rafale warplanes from France. France captured a considerable position in foreign purchases and increased its share in the Indian defense market to the second place with 27%. The USA ranked third with 12%. Currently, India's imports from Israel ranked fourth. The fact that 37% of Israel's arms exports were made to India is seen as a remarkable connection.

Although seeking diversity is the right strategy followed by India, Russian platforms are primarily preferred by India due to price competition and relatively convenience in technology transfers. Under these conditions, it does not seem possible for the Indians to give up on Russia in the short term.

Along with the purchase of warplanes from abroad, India continued its efforts in aircraft construction programs such as Tejas and undersigned successful projects to a certain extent. However, India needs technology transfer in order to reach the desired levels in its aerospace industry.

The Effects of the Russia-Ukraine War on British Policies:

With the Russia-Ukraine War, the Western world is trying to see many countries on its side regarding sanctions against Russia. Even within Europe, the Anglo-Saxon leadership, which could not fully realize this, still continues to press other countries.

India; If they cannot supply weapons and especially technology transfer from the Western world under the conditions they desire, they are compelled to turn the point towards Russia. The fact that there are border disputes with China keeps India away from the Chinese defense industry, and the two countries partially see each other as a threat. In this case, the Indians, who attach importance to cooperation with the Russians, have started to supply the S-400 air defense weapon system from Russia as of the end of 2021, in addition to the Russian warplanes they have purchased before.

Under these circumstances, the integration of India into the Western world is considered essential for the future containment of China, suppression of Russia, and the success of structures like AUKUS in the Indo-Pacific region. The shortest way to this may be to include India in partnerships that will integrate it into the Western arms industry.

India's Cooperation with the Western World:

In this context, news came to the fore that the British Prime Minister promised to help India in the transfer of advanced technology for the production of warplanes. This was also seen as the first concrete effort of the West to rid India of its dependence on Russian weapons.

According to the joint statement released at the end of bilateral talks between the Prime Minister of India and his British counterpart, both sides have decided to cooperate in key areas of strategic cooperation, including modern warplanes and Jet Engine Advanced Core Technology.

The British Prime Minister stated that the two countries are committed to cooperating to address emerging threats in land, sea, airspace and cyberspace, and that the UK will cooperate with India on the detection and response of new fighter jet technologies and naval threats.

Despite India's divergent views on the Ukraine crisis, London appears determined to expand its defense ties with New Delhi. The most striking issue here was the following. London has declared that it will provide open-ended general export license facility to India in order to accelerate the relations in the arms industry. This was notable as the first facility of this scale granted to a non-Western country.

Sixth Generation Tempest Aircraft Program:

According to some analysts, the UK aims to offer 6th Generation Fighter Aircraft Technology to Indians. It is said that the UK wants to include New Delhi in the sixth generation Tempest Future Combat Air System program, which it is currently continuing, and that it has started to lobby in this direction.

The main characteristics predicted to be in the sixth generation warplanes (electronic warfare supported increased invisibility, virtual cockpit, high maneuverability, piloted and unpiloted flying, advanced sensor optimization and integration with other platforms, increased artificial intelligence support, directed energy weapons and use of hypersonic missiles, etc.) .), being included in the Tempest program could offer a significant leap forward for India as well. Currently, the UK, acting jointly with Sweden and Italy for technology development, has increased the cooperation between BAE Systems, which is responsible for the production of the aircraft, and Leonardo UK, Rolls Royce and MBDA. London, which has agreed with Tokyo to develop a sixth-generation aircraft engine and produce air-to-air missiles accordingly, presents a picture that it now prioritizes incorporating New Delhi into the game. It is likely that software developers in India are expected to open new doors for Tempest.

On the other hand, the Indian Government is trying to shape the aerospace industry within the framework of the "manufacture in India" option. Efforts are being made to establish a strong technical infrastructure that will serve this purpose. In this context, the Indians rolled up their sleeves to produce the new generation AMCA fighter aircraft.

Indo-American Cooperation:

Meanwhile, although the Indians show a very willing stance to transfer especially American weapons technology, Washington's reluctance to transfer defense technology is cited as the biggest barricade hindering the cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense. Washington does not look forward to cooperation in weapons technology with India as much as London, or it gives such an appearance to the outside. Indeed, at the beginning of April, the Indian and American foreign and defense ministers met in Washington. Here, American ministers have given no positive signals on the sharing of military technology, despite efforts to aggressively tear their Indian counterparts away from Russia. Unlike Washington, London seems eager to get a share of India's rapidly growing defense industry.

Conclusion:

Britain's move will help India's strategic cooperation with the West move faster, and India will undoubtedly want to cooperate to develop a next-generation fighter jet. According to experts, the UK-led Tempest could be seen as an exciting opportunity for India. However, progress in the Tempest field may evolve depending on what role is presented to India. Let's underline that there is no official statement that India is negotiating with Britain on the Tempest program as of now, and let's know that the speculations that emerged with the visit of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson are not empty. In addition, for London, which is expected to spend 2 billion pounds in total for the Tempest Program in the next 3-4 years, it is obvious that the cooperation with countries like India will be important both financially and in terms of guaranteeing the sales after the production of this aircraft.