TKMS, a leading German defense company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian defense firm VEM Technologies Pvt. Ltd. This partnership focuses on collaboration in submarine weapon technologies, especially heavyweight torpedoes, advancing India’s ‘Make-in-India’ initiative by promoting local development, integration, and testing of defense systems. TKMS is also expanding collaboration with India’s CFF Fluid Control Limited to locally produce state-of-the-art anti-submarine warfare systems and explore broader opportunities including participation in India’s P75(I) submarine program and cooperation with India’s DRDO. But are those cooperations in Germany’s interest while India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the suspected war criminal Wladimir Putin are holding hands with each other?
European and German Industry Partnerships in Indian Defense
Germany and broader European defense industries have shown growing interest in deepening cooperation with India across multiple defense domains, including land, air, naval, space, and cyber technologies. Such collaborations encompass co-development, co-production, joint research, and technology transfer under frameworks like the Germany-India Inter-Governmental Consultations and High Defence Committee meetings. Germany particularly aims to overcome previous export restrictions and regulatory hurdles to enable stronger defense ties, reflected in initiatives to facilitate quicker export clearances and treat India as a strategic partner akin to Australia and Japan. German firms, supported by political will in Berlin, are looking to leverage their engineering and technology strengths to build a long-term presence in India’s thriving defense sector, which includes advanced platforms such as submarines, torpedoes, ASW systems, and more.
Strategic Fit of German-Indian Cooperation Amid India-Russia Relations
The strategic context of Germany’s growing defense cooperation with India must be understood within the backdrop of India’s longstanding close friendship with Russia, particularly in defense procurement and geopolitical alignment. India remains a dominant buyer of Russian military equipment, while Germany and the EU have traditionally maintained cautious policies toward defense exports to India, partly due to India’s Russian links and past legal restrictions. However, recent shifts in German foreign and security policy, driven by concerns over Russian aggression in Ukraine and China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific, have prompted Berlin to seek closer ties with India as a valuable strategic partner.
This cooperation reflects Germany’s pragmatic approach to engage India as a key Indo-Pacific actor, helping India diversify its defense procurement beyond Russia while positioning Germany as a credible supplier and technology partner. While Germany acknowledges India’s unique relationship with Russia, the cooperation in defense technology and production aligns with broader Western interests to reduce Russia’s defense export dominance and support India’s military modernization and strategic autonomy. This partnership thus balances Germany’s European security priorities and its interest in Indo-Pacific stability, marking a significant “leap of faith” by Germany to embrace India despite the latter’s Russia ties.
Nuanced cooperation paves way for more diversified Indian resilience
The TKMS-VEM MoU and the broader European and German push into the Indian defense sector represent a meaningful convergence of industrial collaboration, strategic diplomacy, and regional security interests. Germany is evolving from historical caution to active engagement, facilitating India’s ‘Make-in-India’ goals and deepening defense industrial ties that promise mutual benefits. While India’s close relationship with Russia remains a geopolitical reality, Germany’s expanded cooperation with India fits coherently into its recalibrated strategic outlook—seeking to strengthen Indo-Pacific partnerships and diversify defense alignments without directly confronting India’s Russia relations. This nuanced cooperation may pave the way for more resilient and diversified defense partnerships in a rapidly shifting global security environment.
All of these developments highlight the ongoing transformation of German-Indian defense relations, marked by growing trust, political will, and industrial synergy in a complex geopolitical landscape.
