India-Japan air exercise Veer Guardian signals growing strategic alignment in the Indo-Pacific

JASDF Chief of Staff Masahiro Morita and IAF Chief of Air Staff AP Singh at Jodhpur Air Force Base during Ex Veer Guardian. (Image credit: IAF)

The successful conclusion of Exercise Veer Guardian 2026 has once again put the spotlight on just how far the India-Japan defence relationship has come, evolving from routine military exchanges into a genuinely comprehensive strategic partnership spanning operational cooperation, defence technology, maritime security and emerging military capabilities.This latest edition carried added weight because Japanese fighter aircraft operated from Indian soil for the very first time, a genuine milestone in the growing military engagement between the Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. Beyond the air combat drills, the exercise served as a visible demonstration of the trust, interoperability and strategic convergence steadily building between two of the Indo-Pacific's most important powers, both of whom share overlapping concerns about regional security.JASDF Chief General Takehiro Morita flew a sortie in a twin-seat variant of India's indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, calling it a symbol of India's technological innovation, a clear signal of Japan's appreciation for the country's growing aerospace capabilities. IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, for his part, led a Tejas formation flight during the exercise, underscoring both his own confidence in the indigenous platform and just how operationally mature the aircraft has become.

For New Delhi and Tokyo, Veer Guardian represents far more than an air force engagement, it's 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, an outlook that has steadily translated into deeper cooperation across all three services.

Apart from Veer Guardian, the armies of the two nations conduct Exercise Dharma Guardian, while the navies regularly engage through JAIMEX and the multilateral MILAN exercise.This growing military relationship rests on a series of agreements signed, covering defence cooperation and exchanges, equipment and technology transfers, protection of classified military information, and a Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services agreement, all of which have collectively enabled smoother logistics support and interoperability.Defence technology cooperation has also gained real momentum, with the two countries signing their first joint defence equipment project in 2024 an agreement to co-develop the UNICORN mast system for the Indian Navy's warships. The mast integrates radar and communication antennas into a single structure that reduces a warship's radar signature while improving efficiency, thus making the vessel a more effective combatant.Japan's transport aircraft and maritime patrol platforms an be another area of common interest for India. This opens up genuine opportunities for co-development and co-production under the Make in India framework, potentially letting Japanese firms 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, focused on maritime domain awareness, information sharing, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Discussions also touched on mine countermeasures, shipbuilding, reciprocal ship repair facilities and joint defence research.The dialogue has even extended into next-generation technologies, with India examining pathways for future combat aviation capabilities, and reports suggesting discussions around potential Indian participation in Japan's Global Combat Air Programme, its sixth-generation fighter initiative.

This programme is still at the exploratory stage and India is also in talks with France over the Future Combat Air System platform.Exercise Veer Guardian 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.