Australia and India could deepen defence manufacturing cooperation by linking Australia’s technology and resources capabilities with India’s manufacturing scale, according to a new policy report from the Australia India Institute.
The report, Advancing Australia India Defence Industry Cooperation, examines opportunities across critical minerals, defence innovation and undersea technologies.
It argues that existing bilateral cooperation could be developed further into more integrated pathways connecting research and development with testing, procurement and production.
In the critical minerals sector, the report identifies Australia’s geology, mining expertise, technology and growing processing capabilities as potential complements to India’s engineering capacity, manufacturing scale and industrial policy.
It notes that critical minerals are used in areas including semiconductors, batteries, high-performance alloys, permanent magnets, aerospace systems and defence technologies.
The report proposes greater cooperation in processing, advanced materials, recycling and supply-chain visibility, including mechanisms to identify minerals and components with direct defence relevance.
It also recommends collaboration between Australian and Indian research organisations on areas such as rare-earth separation, battery materials, magnet recycling and battery recovery.
Defence innovation is another focus, with the report highlighting opportunities to connect Australia’s capabilities in sensors, undersea technologies, autonomy, quantum and cybersecurity with India’s strengths in manufacturing, AI, space and start-ups.
The report also points to undersea technologies as an area where cooperation could move from joint R&D towards prototype development, testing, procurement and co-production. It cites a three-year Australia-India research project on towed-array technology, launched in 2025, as an example of existing collaboration.
For manufacturing, the report proposes using existing innovation programs and testing infrastructure to establish clearer pathways from research to industrial production.
It says India’s manufacturing scale and shipbuilding capacity could complement Australia’s experience in developing niche underwater technologies, while noting that issues including intellectual property, technology transfer, export controls and data sovereignty would need to be addressed.
The report concludes that a stronger Australia-India defence-industrial ecosystem could connect Australian resources, processing expertise and finance with Indian manufacturing capacity, strategic demand and industrial policy.
It recommends moving beyond broad commitments towards mechanisms that produce investable and operationally relevant supply chains.
