India-Japan Defence Ties: Transition to Operational Convergence
A recent analysis highlighted Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s visit to India, where both sides discussed operational interoperability, naval shipbuilding and defence technology transfers under Make in India.
- India and Japan share a Special Strategic and Global Partnership, historically anchored in diplomatic frameworks such as the Annual Summit mechanism, the ministerial 2+2 Dialogue (involving Foreign and Defence Ministers), and mutual logistics arrangements under the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA).
- While political convergence on a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) has matured, practical defense cooperation has historically lagged.
- Both nations agreed to explore joint development in naval warship design, integrating Japan’s advanced marine engineering with India’s domestic shipyard manufacturing capacity.
- Deepening discussions on utilizing Indian production infrastructure under ‘Make in India’ and establishing reciprocal access to military ship repair and maintenance facilities.
- Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN): A stealth integrated mast system that houses multiple communication and radar antennas within a single composite structure, drastically reducing a warship’s radar cross-section (RCS).
- Building on the November 2024 Memorandum of Understanding involving Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), both governments committed to early implementation, marking Japan’s first major defense equipment transfer to India under Tokyo’s revised Three Principles on Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology.
- Institutionalizing co-development pipelines between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) to overcome the implementation bottlenecks that hampered the 2015 Defense Technology Transfer Agreement.
- Exercise Veer Guardian 2026: Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) fighter aircraft deployed to India for the first time in September 2026.
- Agreement to introduce unmanned combat systems (drones), conduct short-notice contingency drills to test operational readiness, and integrate Japan’s Self-Defense Forces with India’s upcoming Integrated Theatre Commands.
- Shared Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA): Linking real-time operational feeds between the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and the Western Pacific/East China Sea, creating an end-to-end maritime operating picture across critical Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs).
