Major moves underway in India–Germany ties

India and Germany are set to sign a defence cooperation roadmap this week, as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visits Germany after a gap of 7 years.

The deets: the focus is to move beyond traditional defence ties into future warfare tech like AI, drones, and cyber security. 

At the same time, both countries are pushing ahead on the ₹70,000 crore Project 75I, where Mazagon Dock and Germany’s thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (tkMS) will jointly build 6 advanced submarines in India.

These submarines will come with Air-independent Propulsion (AIP), meaning they can stay underwater longer and avoid detection better. More importantly, Germany will transfer key technology, helping India build these systems locally.

Big moves brewing: India is also looking to join a global group building sixth-generation fighter jets, the next big leap in air combat, expected by 2040. Plus, there’s a strong push to build capabilities in cyber warfare, drones, and space defence under the long-term Vision 2047 plan.

Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe, with bilateral trade crossing $25–30 billion annually. For India, this partnership brings three concrete advantages.