Tokyo, New Delhi Agree on Shipment of Stealthy Antennas to India; 2nd Time for Japan to Transfer Finished Defense Equipment

By Shinsuke Uemura and Tomomi Asano / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

16:12 JST, August 21, 2024

NEW DELHI — Japan and India have agreed on a plan for Japan to export stealthy antennas for naval communications to India, which, if realized, would be the second shipment by Japan of finished defense equipment to a foreign country.

At the two-plus-two meeting of foreign and defense ministers held in New Delhi on Tuesday, the Japanese and Indian ministers agreed to accelerate discussions on the export of the Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) developed by a group of Japanese companies.

Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara met with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in their third two-plus-two dialogue.

The ministers have adopted a plan to deepen security cooperation, in response to China’s increasingly assertive maritime behavior.

The antenna being considered for export combines multiple antennas into a single system to achieve a smaller size and greater stealth.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force is installing the antenna on a Mogami-class destroyer.

This would be the second export of finished defense equipment based on the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, following the transfer of air defense radar systems to the Philippines.

After the meeting, Japan and India presented a joint statement and decided to revise their Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation signed in 2008.

The ministers also agreed to engage in full-fledged discussions to update the declaration to include space and cybersecurity cooperation and to strengthen joint exercises.

In the statement, they also agreed to accelerate future cooperation, with India assisting in maintaining Maritime Self-Defense Force ships at Indian ports.

The agreement is intended to enhance operational flexibility when MSDF vessels are deployed to the Middle East or Africa.