Delhi, Berlin ink defence industrial pact; subs, armed UAVs top priority

India and Germany on Monday bridged their ‘strategic distance’ and inked a joint declaration to develop a defence industrial cooperation roadmap to promote long-term industry-level collaboration, including technology partnerships, co-development and co-production of defence platforms and equipment.

The move will help the Indian military in its two immediate needs — next-generation submarines and armed UAVs — and could open up billions of dollars in investment.

India clarified that defence-industrial collaboration with Germany would not be in lieu of its long-standing ties with Russia. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, at a press briefing in Ahmedabad, said: “Our approach to defence sourcing is driven by our national interest. Sourcing from one country is not linked to sourcing from another country (Russia).”

Misri was responding to questions seeking context to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s remarks referring to Russia’s military supplies to India. Merz said Germany was seeking “deeper cooperation between our defence industries to cut India’s traditional dependence on Russia for military hardware”.

Germany to deploy liaison officer

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Germany will deploy a liaison officer to the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) based in Gurugram, near New Delhi. Several countries, including the US, the UK, Australia, France and Japan, are already part of the centre, which collates inputs on maritime movement.

On the submarine deal, the Foreign Secretary said technical, financial and commercial discussions have maintained momentum. “We hope to see a positive outcome,” he added. The German Type-214 conventional submarine with air-independent propulsion is being offered by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) in partnership with MDL. The German government is fully behind TKMS’s bid and has conveyed to India that it will facilitate the deal.

Meanwhile, a joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Merz welcomed the establishment of a new ‘Track 1.5’ foreign policy and security dialogue between the two countries.

Both sides expressed satisfaction at ongoing cooperation between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) for the ‘Eurodrone’ UAV programme.

Last year, India officially joined, as an observer, the 7 billion euros Eurodrone project led by Germany, involving France, Italy and Spain. The Indian armed forces have jointly identified a requirement for nearly 100 UAVs as part of their modernisation agenda. The Eurodrone’s capabilities include intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions, with potential maritime variants supporting anti-submarine warfare and airborne early warning functions.

India and Germany are also working towards concluding a Memorandum of Understanding on training of peacekeeping forces, a reciprocal logistics support agreement and knowledge exchange in new defence technologies between DRDO and Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw).