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Chandigarh: The recently agreed India-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) marks more than an expansion of commercial ties, with defence and strategic cooperation emerging as one of its key pillars.

While primarily aimed at boosting trade, investment, and civil industrial collaboration, the pact is viewed by Indian defence planners as laying the groundwork for deeper cooperation in defence manufacturing, technology transfer, and materiel procurement. In this context, Europe’s defence industry is increasingly viewed as a credible alternative to India’s traditional arms suppliers like Russia, Israel, and – though to a lesser extent – the US, each of which poses its own set of limitations and challenges.

Industry officials in New Delhi and Bangalore argue that many European defence firms bring a distinct approach to military commerce, consciously separating such engagements from geopolitical agendas, prioritising industrial logic over strategic leverage.

They emphasise that the political neutrality of most EU member states, along with their minimal engagement in global conflicts, positions them as lower-risk partners for sustained defence collaboration. This pragmatic approach contrasts with India’s major defence suppliers, whose security policies were shaped by broader strategic calculations, sanctions, or shifting alliances, thereby underscoring Europe’s value in boosting India’s military modernisation.

“Smaller and technologically advanced European countries tend to separate defence commerce from geopolitical agendas,” said Brigadier Rahul Bhonsle (Retd) of Security Risks consultancy in Delhi. Their focus remains on industrial logic rather than strategic leverage, and their relative political neutrality and limited involvement in global conflicts make them lower-risk partners for co-development and sustained collaboration, he added.

India’s reassessment of its military modernisation strategy has been sharpened by the experience of Operation Sindoor, which exposed vulnerabilities stemming from supply-chain disruptions and overdependence on a narrow pool of suppliers. The crisis highlighted the strategic necessity of diversifying procurement to include partners that are politically neutral, technologically sophisticated, and open to co-development and localisation – key elements in advancing India’s goal of Atmanirbharta or achieving augmented indigenous military capabilities.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia, the US, Israel, and France together accounted for 84% of India’s arms imports between 2019 and 2023, with Moscow alone supplying 36%. However, despite a steady decline in acquisitions, more than 60% of India’s current military equipment remains of Russian origin.

But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the US and EU-led sanctions on Moscow that followed, have severely disrupted deliveries of critical platforms to India, including two S-400 ‘Triumf’ air defence units, Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates, and the lease of a second Akula-class nuclear submarine.

Moreover, enduring delays in providing spares for Indian’s frontline Su-30........

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