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India and Brazil appear close to finalising two major naval cooperation proposals as Indian Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi begins his four-day visit to Brazil from 09 to 12 December. Both governments have been negotiating draft frameworks for months, and officials expect the current discussions in Brasília to narrow the remaining gaps.
The two proposals under advanced consideration are:
A cooperative mechanism among Scorpène-class submarine operators, enabling shared maintenance protocols, improved MRO support, and long-term sustainment collaboration.
A joint shipbuilding arrangement at a Brazilian shipyard with idle capacity, allowing India and Brazil to co-produce naval platforms, potentially patrol vessels, auxiliaries, or other surface ships, both for domestic use and for export markets.
Admiral Tripathi’s meetings will focus on these key issues with Brazilian Defence Minister José Múcio, Chief of the Joint Staff Admiral Renato Rodrigues de Aguiar Freire, and Brazilian Navy Commander Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen.
A Visit Positioned Ahead of Lula’s 2026 India Trip
Although India and Brazil maintain regular bilateral military engagements as well as under IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa), this visit holds added relevance as it comes ahead of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s planned state visit to India in early 2026. New Delhi hopes to achieve substantial progress on naval cooperation that can be announced or further advanced during the summit.
The last high-level Indian military visit to Brazil was in 2023, when former Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari travelled to the country to discuss aerospace and industrial collaboration. Admiral Tripathi’s 2025 trip now moves the focus into the maritime domain, an area where both nations see substantial room for expansion.
India and Brazil are founding members of BRICS, and the visit is being framed within a broader push for South–South defence cooperation and technology partnerships.
On-Ground Engagements Across Brazilian Naval Facilities
Admiral Tripathi’s programme includes visits to naval bases, operational commands, and shipyards along Brazil’s southeastern coast. These engagements will allow the Indian delegation to assess existing Brazilian infrastructure for submarine servicing and evaluate the feasibility of joint construction lines for surface vessels.
The two navies are also reviewing cooperation in maritime domain awareness, hydrographic services, operational training exchanges, and potential coordination across the Indian Ocean Region and South Atlantic.
Momentum Building Across the Defence Relationship
Naval talks in 2025 follow a series of earlier steps that expanded the India–Brazil defence partnership:
- July 2025: The eighth Joint Defence Committee meeting in Brasília examined co-production opportunities, military training exchanges, and regional security cooperation.
- October 2025: Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Defence Minister José Múcio met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi, reaffirming interest in Indian-origin platforms such as the Akash air defence system and the lightweight Garuda 105 V2 artillery gun.
- Brazil recently appointed naval and air attachés to its Embassy in New Delhi, marking a new phase of defence diplomacy between the two countries.
South–South Industrial Cooperation at the Centre
Both sides are expected to discuss a broader defence-industrial agenda, including:
- submarine lifecycle support and crew training,
- co-design and co-production of naval platforms,
- integration of coastal surveillance and maritime communication systems,
- opportunities for defence manufacturing supply chains,
- and coordination in multilateral naval settings under BRICS or other South–South arrangements.
Visit Expected to Deliver Substantive Outcomes
Officials state that Admiral Tripathi’s visit aims to move beyond exploratory dialogue and focus on concrete deliverables in the submarine and shipbuilding domains. Technical teams have already conducted multiple rounds of preparatory work, and both governments are looking to lock in agreements that can be elevated during the 2026 Modi–Lula meeting.
If consensus is reached on the Scorpène cooperation framework and the joint shipbuilding plan, they will mark a new stage in the India–Brazil maritime partnership.
Huma Siddiqui
