The U.K. is leveraging a logistics support agreement signed with India to expand military to military engagements, especially in the maritime domain, as it also looks to augment its capability and deployments in the Indo-Pacific. A U.K. warship underwent essential maintenance for the first time in April at Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) shipyard at Kattupalli as a Royal Navy Littoral Response Group-South (LRG-S) visited India.
“The logistics-sharing agreement allows for the provision of logistic support, supplies and services between the UK and Indian armed forces, for joint training, joint exercises, authorised port visits and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations,” Brigadier Nick Sawyer, Defence Advisor in the U.K. High Commission in India, said on social media platform X. “This agreement has been a real game changer. It has led to increased engagements between our armed forces. The vital logistics partnership supports longer deployments of our capabilities in the region and is clear evidence of the UK Indo-Pacific tilt in action, in sync with India.”
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India has signed a series of agreements, beginning with the U.S. in 2016, that have significantly expanded the logistics support for Indian military, especially the Indian Navy which has expanded its operational turnaround across the Indian Ocean Region.
The LRG(S) is a multi-functional amphibious task force equipped to undertake a wide spectrum of activity in the littoral environment, according to Brig. Sawyer, and consists of the ships RFA Argus and RFA Lyme Bay, with embarked forces centred on a Royal Marines strike force. While there have been a record number of Royal Navy ship visits to India in the past 12 months, a new landmark was achieved this time when the LRG(S) vessels docked at the L&T shipyard in Kattupalli near Chennai, he noted. “This was the first time a Royal Navy vessel underwent essential maintenance in an Indian shipyard — a direct result of the logistics-sharing agreement signed between the UK and India in 2022,” Brig. Sawyer said.
“In recent deployments, Royal Navy ships have received spare parts manufactured by Indian shipyards within a short notice period, showcasing the growing interoperability between our navies,” he added.
Elaborating further on the logistics agreement, Brig Sawyer said that it was not just the ships, but Royal Air Force flights travelling in the region had benefitted from taking logistics halts in India twice so far, allowing opportunities for the two air forces to share best practices and invaluable experiences.
The U.S. warships were the first to arrive in India for repairs. L&T’s shipyard was the first to enter into a Master Shipyard Repair Agreement (MRSA) with the U.S. and has so far repaired three U.S. Navy fleet support ships. After L&T, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited and Cochin Shipyard Limited also entered into MRSAs, enabling them to repair U.S. Navy ships.
Prior to entering Kattupalli, the U.K. task group had conducted maritime exercises with INS Trishul in the Arabian Sea. Following the completion of the maintenance, RFA Argus and RFA Lyme Bay conducted a maritime exercise in the Bay of Bengal. INS Sahyadri joined the U.K. Task Group, conducting maritime manoeuvres, aviation, and replenishment serials, the Defence Adviser stated. “These activities strengthen the foundation laid for future maritime engagements as part of the 2030 UK-India Roadmap,” he said.
