India has signed a £350 million ($465 million) agreement with the United Kingdom to procure air defense missiles and launchers, further expanding bilateral defense cooperation. Under the deal, the Indian Army will receive Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM) produced by Thales in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the same advanced system that has been supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The British government emphasized that this latest contract deepens the UK–India defense and industrial partnership. It coincides with a separate £250 million ($332 million) initiative focused on developing naval electric propulsion systems, underscoring a growing collaboration in defense manufacturing and technology exchange between London and New Delhi.
Developed by Thales, the LMM is a versatile precision-guided missile capable of neutralizing a wide range of threats. It weighs just 13 kilograms, offers a reach of over 6 kilometers, and travels at speeds above Mach 1.5, making it highly effective for rapid-response operations. Its laser-guided seeker enables pinpoint accuracy against moving targets while limiting unintended damage in urban or complex terrain.
The LMM can be launched from various configurations, including shoulder-fired systems, vehicle platforms, and naval launchers like the RapidRanger. It is designed to target light armor, drones, helicopters, and fast-attack boats, ensuring adaptability across multiple combat domains. For naval forces, it provides a critical capability to engage low-flying aircraft and agile maritime threats in high-intensity environments.
