India-Japan Agreement on UNICORN Masts for Naval Ships

• India and Japan have signed a Memorandum of Implementation (MoI) for the “codevelopment” of UNICORN masts for naval ships.
• The UNICORN mast houses antennas atop warships, increasing their stealth characteristics.
• The agreement is part of the India-Japan Defence Technology Cooperation.
• Once implemented, this would be the first export case of defence technology from Japan under the 2015 bilateral agreement.
• The Indian Navy is pursuing the induction of these advanced systems, codeveloped by Bharat Electronics Limited in India with Japanese collaboration.
• This would be the first case of codevelopment and co-production of defence equipment between India and Japan.