India and Japan have agreed to strengthen their defence-industrial collaboration to access cutting-edge technologies. It involves transferring the stealth Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) for Indian warships and related technologies, with plans to sign related arrangements soon. Both countries have also committed to improving military interoperability through joint combat exercises and cooperation in space and cyber domains in response to China’s assertive actions in the Indo-Pacific region.
Following the “successful completion of the cooperation in the areas of unmanned ground vehicles/robotics,” the joint statement mentioned that both parties “appreciated the progress made for the transfer of UNICORN and related technologies and early signing of related arrangements.” The UNICORN will be installed on Indian naval ships. The Japanese system combines multiple antennae of a warship into a single horn-shaped structure to reduce radar signature and avoid detection by enemy forces. Bilateral discussions on this system, which has the capability to detect the movement of missiles and drones by sensing radio waves over a wide area, have been ongoing for a couple of years.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with Japanese counterpart Kihara Minoru and emphasized India’s interest in collaborating with Japan to enhance domestic defence-industrial capabilities and establish the country as a global manufacturing hub.
The Ministers welcomed the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Indian Naval Force, which are exploring future cooperation in the area of ship maintenance in India. They also agreed to explore discussions for coordination and cooperation in the field of defence and security assistance to third countries for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
They also agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in the fields of space and cyber. They reaffirmed the importance of multilateral defence cooperation and exchanges in the Indo-Pacific region while expressing their commitment to continuing bilateral and multilateral exercises, including “Dharma Guardian,” JIMEX, and “Malabar.”
Japan will participate in the top-tier Malabar naval exercise hosted by India in the Bay of Bengal in October. The Malabar exercise, which started as a bilateral activity between India and the US in 1992, now regularly involves Japan and Australia.
The “2+2” dialogue with Japan was initiated to further deepen bilateral security and defence cooperation and bring greater depth to the special strategic and global partnership between the two countries. The Ministers have agreed to hold the next 2+2 Ministerial Meeting in Japan.
Ravi Shankar
