The Indian Navy and Japan locked its horns in the defence cooperation on November 15, 2024, when both has inked Memorandum of Implementation (MOI) for joint development of Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) masts. This MOI was entered into at the Embassy of India in Tokyo making it perhaps the first of such defence MOI between the two countries.
H.E. Shri Sibi George, the Indian Ambassador to Japan, and Mr. Ishikawa Takeshi, the Commissioner of the Acquisition Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) of the Japanese Ministry of Defence, signed the Memorandum. This agreement means that, for the first time India and Japan have decided to jointly develop and produce defence equipments.
The UNICORN Mast: Enhancing Naval Capabilities
The UNICORN mast is a new generation integrated communication system which aims at enhancing the stealth features of naval assets. This is made possible through incorporating a number of communication systems in a single mast; the UNICORN mast improves the functionalities of naval ships during operations and at the same time least visible to the radar. The performance of this technology is expected to enhance the Indian naval forces’ strength in contemporary naval combatant operations.
Collaboration and Co-Development
The development of the UNICORN mast will be done jointly with Japanese partners by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in India. It uses technology and innovation strengths and resources of both nations creating a synergy and balancing relationship. This partnership is to guarantee the end deliverables meet the Indian Navy needs while developing them with the modern Japanese technology.
Strategic Significance
It is a step to foster defence relation between the two nations. China and Russia increased the dynamics of their strategic partnership in recent years with focus on boosting defence cooperation. The simultaneous development of the UNICORN mast is a sign towards this in the sense that the new system will improve the capabilities of the Indian Navy, and at the same time, foster technology sharing between the two countries.
Future Prospects
The mast project if successfully implemented is expected to open doors for further defence cooperation between India and Japan in the future. This collaboration may set a pattern for introducing other similar collaborations that may lead to development of even better defence systems. The cooperation is also instrumental of India’s strategic plan that emphasizes on achievement of local production of arms and ammunition popularly referred to as the “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” (Self-reliant India).
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
One of the biggest public sector enterprises in India, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) serves the Indian Ministry of Defense as well as other public sector entities. BEL was established in 1954 and is today one of the premier manufacturers of state-of-the-art electronic equipment and systems for the Indian defence to include the Army, Navy and Air Force. BEL was founded and is based in Bangalore, Karnataka and has been categorized as a Navratna Company in view of its important role in strengthening India’s defence system.
A Legacy of Innovation
Technology has since its inception been well adopted by BEL as a key strategic tool of production. The company initially started its operations for producing communication equipments and after extensive business covering various areas of development has moved into various arenas of equipments required such as radars, avionics, weapon systems, voters machines, electronics required in space etc. Thus, BEL has been focusing on research and development and chartered innovative systems that increase the navigational strength of the Indian Armed Forces.
Diversification and Expansion
Recently, BEL has transformed some of its products and services, which were initially offering to the defence sector only. The company has explored newer verticals like, homeland security solutions, smart cities, e-governance solutions, energy storage products and cyber security. Such diversification has enabled BEL to apply the acquired expertise in electronics to other sectors thus becoming a catalyst to technology and innovation needs in the nation.
Global presence and Partnerships
Due to the dedication of BEL to quality, the company has established itself on the international market, and sells its products in a number of countries. The company has formed strategic alliances and partnerships with global companies in order to gain flexibility improvement and access to new markets. These partnerships have placed BEL in a position to be at par with the development in technologies and to supply quality products to the international market.
Policies and obligations of Quality
Quality and customer satisfaction are not just priorities for BEL but evidences the company’s foundation and business operatives. The company is particularly committed to the quality of its end products and is pursuing a constant process of modernising its production system and equipments. Today, BEL has well equipped facilities and highly trained workforce which guarantee its products for high performance and durability.
India-Japan Defence Relations
There exists new era defence cooperation between India and Japan and the two nations have over the years sealed stronger bonds of defence relationship with corresponding aspirational values of regional stability and security. The collaboration between the two countries has now developed into a strong strategic bilateral cooperation in many areas of defence.
Historical Context
Defence relation between India and Japan started in year 2008 when India and Japan signed ‘Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation’. The statement laid the foundation for a new chapter of strategic partnership between the two countries within the framework of defence relations with focuses on the following domains; maritime security, counter-terrorism and disaster management.
Key Collaboration and Agreement
In the year 2014, India and Japan elevated their ties to the Special Strategic and Global Partnership to yet another level enhancing their defence cooperation. This cooperation has brought some fundamental accords such as the “Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement” (ACSA) that was signed in 2020 to enable the armed forces of the two countries to liaise in the delivery of services and acquisition of resources.
The other major event was Agreement on mutual supply and service between the Indian Defence Ministry and the Japan Self-Defence Forces signed in 2020. It has also supported public exercises and reciprocal ship, aircraft, and contingent visits, thus improving mutual compatibility.
Joint Military Exercises
There is trust between India and Japan that sustains high-intensity bilateral
military exercises to pursue collective defence goals. Prominent ones are “Veer Guardian” (air force), “Dharma Guardian” (army), “JIMEX” (naval), and the “Malabar” (multilateral with America & Australia). These exercises are useful in providing identification of training requirements and improvement in operational readiness of the two forces.
Technological Collaboration
Out of the discussed pillars technological cooperation seems to be an essential part of India-Japan defence relations. The two countries have come up with defence research collaboration programs targeted at defence sectors including; unmanned ground vehicles, robotics, and cyber security. These collaborations are meant to build on the technology strength of both nations and create new age defence systems.
Regional security and the Indo-Pacific
There is a great deal of substance in the India-Japan cooperation: both countries envision an open, free and rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific region. The two countries also share common concerns in regard to regional security, stability and combating menace which include; terrorism and maritime piracy. Their strategic coordination is occasioned by increasing Chinese military activity and both countries increase defence partnership.
Future Prospects
Based on the certainty of both India and Japan’s interest in strengthening its strategic cooperation, the articulation of the India-Japan defence relations in the future appears to be optimistic. The need of maintaining defense and security cooperation was underlined during the most recent 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting in New Delhi in August 2024. The ministers re-pledged their commitment to promote the QUAD dialogue and contribute to the peace and stability development of the region.
UNICORN: Unified Complex Radio Antenna
The UNICORN is a new type of concept that has found its way into naval systems to address the issue of improving the stealth of naval platforms. Developed through collaboration between Japanese companies NEC Corporation, Sampa Kogyo KK, and Yokohama Rubber, UNICORN consolidates multiple communication antennas into a single integrated system. This approach not only makes the installations and also the maintenance easier but also reduces the RCS of naval vessels to a greater extent.
How UNICORN Enhances Stealth
In that sense, the novelty of UNICORN is that it can minimize the RCS of naval platforms. Thus, UNICORN places several antennas on a single mast and screens the entire construction with a radome, which reduces the ship’s detectability to radar. This makes it harder for other party radar to identify and follow the ship, which is actually an essential and strategic facet in present day sea combat. The distribution of antennas within the mast also greatly enhances the maximum range of the radio waves that can be received from outside the concealed vessel and additionally contributes to the stealth of the vessel.
Benefits of UNICORN mast
- Enhanced Operational Security: Thus, UNICORN minimises structural radar reflection, enabling naval craft to survive better in dangerous theatres.
- Simplified Maintenance: The flexibility of having different numbers of antennas in one system makes it easier to service and therefore faster and cheaper to run.
- Improved Communication: The key component in effective organizational communication is provided by the fully integrated communication systems on board UNICORN naval platform.
- Weather Resistance: Mast of UNICORN has a special cover called radome that shields the antenna from weather elements and lightning which are likely to damage the antenna affecting its efficiency.
Implementation and Central Ambition
The Indian Navy is going to gain from UNICORN mast as India and Japan signed a co-development agreement so this is a very big step in defence cooperation. The technology use in this satellite will be implemented by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), which will enhance India’s defence systems. A successful absorption of UNICORN mast in different platforms of Indian navy will help in designing a robust road-map for further collaboration in more joint defence production ventures in future.