UK invites Indian army for 2-month-long jt military exercise'

'
London, Nov 23 (PTI) Britain has invited the Indian army
for the first of its kind joint military exercise here for two
months next year, a media report said Tuesay.
The exercise would involve a company of Indian soldiers
training alongside British troops for two months next summer,
'The Times' daily said.
Liam Fox, the British Defence Secretary, is in New
Delhi to offer India joint missile and other weapon technology
research programmes and press it to sign a 7-billion-pound
fighter jet contract of Eurofighter Typhoon consortium.
Admitting that the Typhoon, which he is trying to sell,
was expensive, Fox said the consortium of companies from four
nations behind the aircraft -- the UK, Germany, Spain and
Italy -- would offer more than "just hardware".
The prospect of India aligning its Air Force more
closely with the "battle-hardened" Royal Air Force (RAF) of
the UK, with experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, was also on
offer, he told the newspaper.
Eurofighter is one of the six contenders in the IAF
deal expected to be worth over USD 12 billion for procuring
126 fighter jets.
American F/A-18 and F-16, Russian MiG 35, Swede Gripen
and French Rafale are the other contenders in the race.
Sir David Richards, Chief of the UK's Defence Staff, and
junior Defence Ministers Gerald Howarth and Peter Luff are
all due to visit India in the next few months as Britain seeks
to broaden its ties with Indian military establishment. PTI
HSR
MHM


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