SA and India join forces on defence and military

A significant outcome of the recent 18th Brics Summit in New Delhi has been renewed momentum in defence and military cooperation between India and South Africa, building on an established strategic partnership.

For Pretoria, closer ties with India offer opportunities to access advanced defence technologies through joint manufacturing, skills development and capacity-building. For New Delhi, its expanding indigenous military-industrial base creates opportunities to deepen defence ties with South Africa while opening potential markets for Indian defence products and technologies.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met on the sidelines of the summit to review progress on the countries’ strategic partnership and discuss areas of mutual interest. They also agreed to maintain close coordination in multilateral forums.

Just days later, India and SA held their inaugural Army-to-Army Staff Talks in New Delhi. The discussions focused on expanding training exchanges and joint capacity-building, creating a new institutional channel for military-to-military engagement.

As part of the programme, the South African delegation visited the Indian Army’s 505 Army Base Workshop and was briefed on the army’s artificial intelligence initiatives, technological modernisation and indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities.

India and SA established a joint defence committee under a 2000 defence cooperation memorandum of understanding, providing a framework for regular defence engagement. The two countries also cooperated through military exchanges, naval exercises, training programmes, and maritime security initiatives.

In 2019, the South African Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Export Council identified areas for collaboration with Indian industry including small-and-medium-calibre ammunition, landward weapons, unmanned aerial vehicles, robotics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and electronic warfare.

More recently, naval cooperation has expanded. An implementing agreement between the Indian and SA navies provides for enhanced submarine-rescue support, while SA’s participation in India’s 2026 International Fleet Review and Exercise Milan further demonstrated the breadth of maritime cooperation.

The growing industrial dimension is reflected in partnerships between defence companies from the two countries. One of the more prominent examples is the collaboration between SA’s Paramount Group and India’s Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd to develop the Simha 4×4 light armoured multi-purpose vehicle for India, Africa and other global markets.

SA defence companies have established commercial links with Indian industry. Milkor, for example, has supplied its Multiple Grenade Launchers to the Indian Army, while Saab Grintek Defence has partnered with Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division on the Land Electronic Defence System 50, a self-protection and laser-warning system for military vehicles.

For both countries, therefore, defence cooperation is extending beyond traditional military-to-military engagement to technology, manufacturing, skills development and industrial collaboration.

• Moodley is a freelance journalist