IAF Chief AP Singh, Japan’s Air Chief, and IAF crew ahead of their solo TEJAS flights

The successful conclusion of Exercise Veer Guardian 2026 has placed renewed emphasis on the depth of the India-Japan defence partnership.

What began as routine military exchanges has now evolved into a comprehensive strategic relationship encompassing operational cooperation, defence technology, maritime security and emerging military capabilities.

This edition of the exercise carried particular significance because Japanese fighter aircraft operated from Indian soil for the very first time. It marked a genuine milestone in the growing military engagement between the Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defence Force.

Beyond the air combat drills, the exercise visibly demonstrated the trust, interoperability and strategic convergence steadily building between two of the Indo-Pacific’s most important powers.

Japan’s Chief of Staff General Takehiro Morita flew a sortie in a twin-seat variant of India’s indigenous TEJAS Light Combat Aircraft. He described the Tejas as a symbol of India’s technological innovation, signalling Japan’s appreciation for India’s growing aerospace capabilities.

Indian Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh led a Tejas formation flight, underscoring his confidence in the indigenous platform and highlighting its operational maturity.

For both New Delhi and Tokyo, Veer Guardian represents far more than an air force engagement. It is one visible piece of a defence relationship that has expanded considerably over the past decade. Air Chief Marshal Singh’s description of Japan as an ‘Apatsu Mitram’, a friend in times of crisis, captured the level of strategic trust now underpinning bilateral ties.

Both nations are Quad members, sharing a commitment to a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific, which has translated into deeper cooperation across all three services. Alongside Veer Guardian, the armies conduct Exercise Dharma Guardian, while the navies engage through JAIMEX and the multilateral MILAN exercise.

This growing military relationship rests on a series of agreements covering defence cooperation and exchanges, equipment and technology transfers, protection of classified military information, and a Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services agreement. These frameworks have collectively enabled smoother logistics support and enhanced interoperability.

Defence technology cooperation has gained momentum. In 2024, the two countries signed their first joint defence equipment project to co-develop the UNICORN mast system for Indian Navy warships.

This mast integrates radar and communication antennas into a single structure, reducing a warship’s radar signature while improving efficiency, thereby making the vessel a more effective combatant.

Japan’s transport aircraft and maritime patrol platforms are emerging as another area of common interest for India.

This opens opportunities for co-development and co-production under the Make in India framework, potentially allowing Japanese firms to tap into India’s manufacturing ecosystem for both domestic and export markets.

The recent visit of Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi added further weight to this trajectory. In talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Arrangement on maritime security cooperation, focusing on maritime domain awareness, information sharing, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Discussions also touched upon mine countermeasures, shipbuilding, reciprocal ship repair facilities and joint defence research.

Dialogue has even extended into next-generation technologies. India is examining pathways for future combat aviation capabilities, with reports suggesting discussions around potential Indian participation in Japan’s Global Combat Air Program, its sixth-generation fighter initiative.

This program remains at the exploratory stage, while India is also in talks with France over the Future Combat Air System platform.

Exercise Veer Guardian thus stands as a clear marker of a partnership that is increasingly operational, technology-driven and strategically significant.

As both India and Japan deepen military cooperation amid a shifting Indo-Pacific security landscape, their alignment signals a robust and enduring commitment to regional stability.

ANI