Japan urges India to fast-track internal process on UNICORN naval radar agreement
Tokyo: Japan on Tuesday called on India to expedite internal procedures for implementing the UNICORN (Unified Complex Radio Antenna) naval radar technology transfer agreement signed during Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to New Delhi in July. A senior official from Japan’s Ministry of Defence said Tokyo is awaiting New Delhi’s next steps to operationalise the deal and pressed for closer military collaboration under the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) framework.
Agreement awaiting Indian clearances
“We have a basic agreement on the transfer of the technology and now we are waiting for the internal processing of the agreement within the Indian establishment and hope they will fast forward the internal process,” the defence official told The Hindu in an interview on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. The UNICORN system is intended to bolster maritime domain awareness and enhance naval radar capabilities through advanced, integrated antenna technology.
Quad drills, bilateral exercises on track
The official said the next naval exercise involving the Quad member-states will be held near the Sea of Japan before the end of the year. Separately, the official noted that the bilateral India–Japan exercise “Veer Guardian 2026” concluded last week, and confirmed that the Quad’s Malabar naval exercise is also planned before year-end. These engagements, the official indicated, underscore the growing tempo of operational coordination among like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific.
Push for FOIP and deeper defence ties
Reiterating Tokyo’s emphasis on a Free and Open Indo-Pacific—a central theme during Prime Minister Takaichi’s July visit—the official called for strengthened defence cooperation with India. The push comes amid a “changing security environment” in the region, the official said, with Japan seeking to ensure “uninterrupted capability” to counter drones and other unmanned systems.
Countering drones and AI-driven warfare
Japan is moving to rapidly adapt its defence posture to lessons from ongoing conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine, where drones and artificial intelligence are reshaping battlefield dynamics. “Apart from drones, Artificial Intelligence is also being deployed in combats in West Asia and Ukraine and that is accelerating decision-making in military,” the official said. “Countering drones is becoming costly because military hardware will get depleted in a week if we start countering drones with expensive missiles.”
Tokyo had adopted three major policy documents in 2022—on national security, national defence, and defence build-up (military supplies)—with revisions originally slated for 2027. These updates are now being brought forward “ahead of time” in response to emerging operational realities, the official said.
An August policy paper, “Evaluation of Japan’s Current National Defence Strategy and Defence Buildup Programme (Challenges and Future Direction),” states that Japan considers it “necessary to field large numbers of diverse unmanned assets, integrate them with conventional platforms, and operate them flexibly in accordance with mission requirements and battlefield conditions.”
Concerns over China, Russia and North Korea
The defence official outlined a series of activities by China, Russia and North Korea that Japan views as “concerning,” while stopping short of describing them as a direct “threat.” “China’s non-transparent and rapidly increasing military expenditure and its activities in areas around Japan as well as China–Russia joint bomber flights in areas near Japan are concerning for Tokyo,” the official said. Japan is “monitoring military activities” by all three countries, they added.
The official also cited North Korea’s support to Russia’s campaign in Ukraine, stating that Pyongyang is “receiving technology from Russia” in return. Nonetheless, the official reiterated Japan’s longstanding posture of restraint: “Japan will not strike anyone first. We will maintain minimum defence capability necessary for self-defence that will be exercised when Japan is under attack and there is no change in that stance.” Japan, they said, “will not assert its military power but will make proactive contribution to peace and stability in the region.”
China’s criticism and Japan’s response
Earlier this month, China’s Foreign Ministry referenced Japan’s wartime history and its debate over constitutional revisions, arguing that Tokyo’s “moves constitute a blatant challenge to the postwar international order, and a major factor threatening peace and stability in the region.”
The Japanese defence official, however, highlighted Tokyo’s concern over China’s July 6 test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in the South China Sea. “China’s military activities lack transparency and are very rapid and encompass wide areas,” the official said. “Going forward, the MoD of Japan will continue to work with our allies and like-minded countries in answering such actions in the South China Sea.”
What comes next
With the UNICORN radar agreement awaiting Indian clearances, Tokyo is pressing for swift implementation to advance defence technology cooperation and interoperability. The upcoming Quad and bilateral exercises are set to reinforce operational ties as Japan accelerates revisions to its defence and security policies in light of fast-evolving threats, particularly from unmanned systems and AI-enhanced warfare.
Why it matters
Japan’s call to expedite the UNICORN agreement underscores both countries’ intent to deepen maritime security collaboration under the FOIP framework. As Tokyo moves to adapt its defence strategy ahead of schedule and heightens engagement with Quad partners, the focus on resilient, cost-effective countermeasures to drones, closer technology sharing, and coordinated regional responses signals a more integrated Indo-Pacific security posture in the months ahead.
