India-Germany defence road map ‘good template’ for wider EU cooperation

India and Germany’s new defence road map could give New Delhi fresh momentum in its long-running push to modernise its undersea fleet, while helping Europe expand its security role in the Indo-Pacific, experts say. The two countries signed a Defence Industrial Cooperation Road Map in Berlin on Wednesday, with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, agreeing to deepen collaboration in development, production and niche technologies. The agreement was reached during Singh’s three-day visit to Germany, which aimed to give fresh momentum to the bilateral strategic partnership. But the most closely watched element of the visit was a planned US$8 billion submarine cooperation agreement, which Pistorius said Germany expected to finalise soon. “I am very, very confident that we will be able to sign the agreement soon, especially today following the talks with His Excellency Singh and his delegation,” Pistorius told reporters after both ministers visited a Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) facility. TKMS is set to partner with Indian state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders to manufacture the submarines. Singh had indicated the deal was “on track”, Pistorius said, adding that “things will be done and inked, so to speak, within the next three months”. Singh highlighted the importance of the India-EU Security and Defence Partnership, calling it a major step towards strengthening collective engagement. Experts say the agreement should be seen not only as a bilateral defence deal but also as part of Delhi’s maritime modernisation effort amid China’s growing naval presence in the Indian Ocean and Europe’s evolving Indo-Pacific strategy. The current India-Germany defence agreement has the potential to evolve into a mutually beneficial template for future India-EU cooperation, according to C Uday Bhaskar, director of the Delhi-based think tank Society for Policy Studies. “The final agreement [India-Germany] will have to be reviewed in greater detail to ascertain the level of technology transfer to be included,” Bhaskar said, noting that critical areas included submarine design capabilities, AIP propulsion systems, stealth technologies, combat management systems and engineering support. “Underwater technology is a very closely guarded domain, and how this part is concluded in the final agreement and then implemented will be the litmus test.” Dongkeun Lee, a PhD candidate at Australian National University’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, said India-European collaboration was meaningful not only because of China’s increased naval presence but also because of the Pakistani navy’s growing capabilities. “India is facing delays in the delivery of [nuclear-powered attack submarines] from Russia. Meanwhile, Hangor-class submarines are being launched in Pakistan, and China is also seeking to expand its presence in the Indian Ocean. From this perspective, India may require additional hunter-killer submarines,” Lee said. The planned submarine deal would mark the first transfer of German submarine production technology to a non-European country and Lee said this would enhance India’s underwater warfare capabilities. “These capabilities can contribute to anti-submarine warfare and also be used to target surface assets of both the Pakistani navy and the [Chinese navy]. Overall, they will strengthen India’s naval capabilities vis-a-vis both countries.” Lee noted that Europe could also benefit from more partners in the Indo-Pacific given the uncertainty of US commitment to the region amid recent tensions. “In this context, strengthening the strategic relationship between India and Europe could be interpreted as one such move,” Lee said. Shairee Malhotra, deputy director of the Strategic Studies Programme at the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi, said the deal was taking shape against the backdrop of the recently signed EU-India Security and Defence Partnership. Malhotra said the pact offered India a pathway to access the EU’s €150 billion (US$175 billion) simple agreement for future equity instrument, aimed at accelerating defence industrial production and procurement. India already had robust defence linkages with several EU member states spanning major platforms and industrial collaborations, she said, and the deal with Germany would add huge credibility to the EU’s role as a key Indian defence partner. “The strategic messaging from Brussels and member states is complementary and reinforces stronger EU-India defence and security ties,” she said. From a regional security dynamic perspective, Malhotra said the Indo-German submarine deal would help balance and maintain greater stability in the Indo-Pacific by enhancing Indian deterrence capabilities, given China’s increasing naval presence in the Indian Ocean and the wider Indo-Pacific. “The tech transfer component is also a pragmatic step by Germany. Rather than coercing or pressuring India to limit its ties with Russia, Germany is providing India with the technology access it seeks,” Malhotra said. “This sets a good template for Indian defence collaboration with other EU member states, where the transfer of high-end technology is subject to national competence.” The EU is one of India’s largest trading partners, with trade figures in 2024–25 standing at about US$136 billion, according to official data. Antoine Levesques, senior fellow for South and Central Asian defence at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the new road map showed India’s preference for government-to-government-led defence industrial cooperation frameworks that enabled increasingly sophisticated public-private deals. India has already signed a defence deal with France and a free-trade agreement with the United Kingdom. “India hopes and expects this will allow it to seal a large contract for advanced conventional submarines later this year, inclusive of meaningful technology transfer to India’s defence industrial and innovation base, and a larger commitment by Germany to foster defence co-development and co-creation in India,” Levesques said. Levesques noted that Singh’s visit showed India intended to shape – alongside France – the critical details and sequencing of future EU-level efforts to include Delhi in the bloc’s near- and longer-term defence supply chain plans. “The prize India seeks is an export share of the EU [as well as UK] market opening up for Indian-made, or -designed defence systems, subsystems and components, as well as its talent servicing of those, and wider ancillary technology services India claims it can reliably provide European states looking for pricing and volume effects,” he said. “It was therefore unsurprising though important that during his visit, Rajnath Singh highlighted India was a market, manufacturing base, skilled workforce, a supplier ecosystem and a hub for innovation.”

India-Germany defence road map ‘good template’ for wider EU cooperation

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Deeper defence ties are expected to boost India’s maritime modernisation efforts and Europe’s security role in the Indo-Pacific, experts say

Deeper defence ties are expected to boost India’s maritime modernisation efforts and Europe’s security role in the Indo-Pacific, experts say