Key facts
- Pact named UNICORN between India and Japan
- Japanese stealth technology to be applied to Indian Navy warships
- Technology makes warships harder to detect
- Part of growing India-Japan defence cooperation
India has secured access to advanced Japanese stealth technology for its naval warships under a new agreement called the UNICORN pact, a development that could meaningfully upgrade the Indian Navy's ability to operate undetected in contested waters.
Stealth technology for warships typically involves reducing a vessel's radar cross-section, infrared signature, and acoustic profile — making it far harder for adversaries to track or target them. By partnering with Japan, which has invested heavily in such capabilities for its own Maritime Self-Defence Force, India gains access to a level of technological sophistication that would take years to develop domestically.
The pact is part of a broader deepening of India-Japan defence ties that has accelerated in recent years, driven by shared concerns over Chinese naval assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific. India has been actively seeking to modernise its naval fleet, and this agreement fits squarely into that strategic agenda. It also reflects Japan's gradual relaxation of its post-war restrictions on defence exports, a policy shift that has made Tokyo a more active arms and technology partner for like-minded democracies.
For the Indian Navy, which operates across the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the wider Indian Ocean Region, enhanced stealth capability on surface warships could prove a significant operational advantage. The agreement signals that India's defence modernisation is increasingly looking eastward for partnerships, complementing existing ties with the United States, France, and Israel.