A high-level Australian defence industry delegation is slated to visit India from October 6 to October 10, scouting for investment opportunities and joint collaborations with Indian defence firms, even as both countries consider each other as top-tier security partners with an eye on boosting maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, ABP Live has learnt.

The visit will also mark five years of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) between India and Australia, which was signed in 2020. Defence partnership is a key element in the CSP.

“India is a top-tier defence and security partner for Australia, and we welcome India’s critical leadership in the Indian Ocean. In the five years since Australia and India signed our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, we have made unprecedented progress in areas including defence and security, trade and investment, education, sports and renewable energy,” an Australian defence spokesperson told ABP Live, requesting anonymity.

The spokesperson also said, “To support greater connections between Australian and Indian business, Australia will send its first defence industry trade mission to India this year from 6 to 10 October. This will include cutting-edge Australian companies working in sectors such as command, control, communications, computers, cyber defence, intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance.”

The expansion of the defence partnership between India and Australia comes at a time when both sides are also deeply engaged in concluding a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) on a parallel track.

“Defence and security cooperation is a key pillar of our partnership and supports our shared interests in Indian Ocean security, stability and sovereignty. In the past decade, we have tripled our annual defence exercises, meetings, and activities,” said the spokesperson.

Last year, India sent a similar delegation that participated in Australia's Land Forces 2024 expo held in Melbourne in September 2024.

India and Australia had been trying for a deeper engagement in defence industry collaboration for the past five years. Defence industry collaboration with India is one of the key elements in Australia’s National Defence Strategy.

However, Australian defence exporters continue to face some challenges in the Indian market owing to protracted procurement procedures and the need for long-term investment. Safeguarding intellectual property also poses a major hurdle.

The Australian defence spokesperson also said that both countries are “investing heavily” in the defence partnership because “we share a vision for an open, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. As the two nations with the largest Indian Ocean coastlines, maritime security is central to our partnership.”

In November 2024, Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Narendra Modi agreed to develop a Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap, which will identify practical milestones for cooperation over the next decade, the spokesperson added.

“In our defence partnership, Australia and India are working to deepen institutional ties, increase information sharing, and enhance joint participation in exercises and operations, particularly in the maritime domain,” said the spokesperson.

India's Participation In Talisman Sabre 2027

Year 2025 also marked the first such year when India participated in the biennial ‘Exercise Talisman Sabre’, which is considered to be Australia’s biggest bilateral wargames with the US, due to its geographical reach. The high-end multi-domain warfighting practice encompassing sea, land, air, cyber and space, is held biennially with the US.

According to an Indian official, who did not wish to be identified, said, despite repeated requests by Australia, India had been shying away from participating in the Talisman Sabre exercise, as it did not want to “anger China.”

However, the official said, in the next edition of Talisman Sabre, which is expected to be held in 2027, India will have a “bigger presence” compared to what it did in 2025.

The Australian defence spokesperson quoted above said that this year, a contingent of Indian Army personnel was embedded as exercise planning and monitoring staff in Australian Defence Force Units across multiple domains.

“India will be invited to participate in future iterations of Talisman Sabre. The shape of their participation will be developed through upcoming planning conferences leading to execution,” the spokesperson added.

As outlined in the National Defence Strategy, Australia is investing in missile defence to protect Defence infrastructure, facilities and the ADF from long-range and high-speed missile capabilities.

Australia and India have tripled annual defence activities over the past decade, from 11 in 2014 to 33 in 2024. This includes military exercises, dialogues and information sharing, personnel exchanges and science and technology cooperation. In 2023, HMAS Stirling welcomed the first visit to Australia by an Indian submarine, INS Vagir.

As outlined in the National Defence Strategy, Australia is investing in missile defence to protect Defence infrastructure, facilities and the ADF from long-range and high-speed missile capabilities. National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) is the Australian Army’s ground-based air defence missile system and forms part of the Australian Defence Force’s integrated air and missile defence capability.

NASAMS are a highly capable, modern air and missile defence system that will protect ADF members and regional partners from current and emerging air threats, including indirect-fire weapons, uncrewed aerial systems, and air-delivered weapons and aircraft.