Special Report: Germany deepens defence industrial integration with India

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (centre left) and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh (centre right) stand with officials at the TKMS submarine shipyard in Kiel, Germany, in April 2026. (Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images)

Germany has outlined plans to deepen its defence partnership with India, positioning the co-operation within the wider European Union (EU)-India security framework.

In April Indian Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh met his German counterpart Boris Pistorius in Berlin to discuss defence industrial ties between the two countries as well as training for United Nations peacekeeping missions.

According to the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD), the discussions prioritised bilateral security and defence collaboration, focusing on joint development and production of defence equipment, particularly niche technologies.

Defence, security

As part of the discussions, the ministers signed the Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap and agreed to leverage the India-EU Security & Defence Partnership to enhance regional stability and joint capabilities, both bilaterally and in the wider European context, the MoD said.

The road map consists of a 10-year plan to deepen co-operation and promote defence industrial collaboration in joint research, development, and production, according to the German MoD.

A spokesperson for the German MoD told Janes on 4 May that Berlin aims to establish a strategic defence industrial partnership with India through the new road map. Expected outcomes include shared development and manufacturing of defence systems, and deeper integration of German industry into India's defence ecosystem and of Indian industry into the European defence industrial base, the spokesperson said.