India boosts defence industry with modernisation drive
Indian government has approved significant budget for upgrading the naval and air force capabilities to deal with the emerging security challenges.
The budget allocation for combat, intelligence, surveillance, and research & development capabilities saw a major jump.
Indian Navy Modernisation Drive
Indian Navy has witnessed major modernisation push with the induction of various vessels and aircrafts in 2026, including the addition of new weapons and surveillance systems. This comes as part of the force’s plan of increasing maritime power projection along with developing advanced anti-ship cruise missiles.
INS Mahendragiri, an advanced stealth corvette, was added to the Eastern Fleet as the third ship of the Linyi-class frigates with a variety of weapons.
Indian Navy received three vessels in June – INS Dunagiri, INS Sanshodhak and INS Agray and will be carrying out surface warfare, and underwater and hydrographic operations.
In addition, the Navy will bolster its maritime surveillance and intelligence-gathering efforts through MQ-9B Sea Guardian aircrafts. India acquired two of these remotely piloted aircrafts (RPA) under a Rs 1,943 crore ($276 million) lease agreement for initial 30 months for surveillance and reconnaissance activities.
Additionally, these aircrafts will conduct Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and maritime patrols along coastal areas and high seas to track potential security threats.
Warplanes, Fighters, Missiles and More
Indian defence ministry has approved significant upgrades to the IAF, including aircraft, transport planes and helicopters, electronic warfare systems and other advanced technologies.
The proposed allocation includes the procurement of new fighters, transport aircraft, helicopters, upgrading of electronic warfare suite, combat missiles for IAF and procurement of weapon accessories as part of the RPF for the warplanes and rotary aircraft.
In addition, the Union Cabinet approved procurement of various equipment for the IAF under RPF including aircrafts including Rafale, combat missiles including Barak and BrahMos, sensors, radars, communication systems and airborne early warning system (AEW&C). All these would contribute towards the warplanes superiority and greater strike reach in combat aircraft, transport and search and rescue aircraft capabilities.
Push for Indigenous Defence Production and Capabilities
The government is looking to further boost indigenous defence production and reduce reliance imports for majority of defence products. The defence minister unveiled a vision document that outlined a roadmap to strengthen indigenous defence industry covering a wide range of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and Private Defence Industries.
It will be focusing on building technologies that have been identified in a classified list of critical technologies, platforms and weapons systems including aircraft, jet engines and aircraft carriers, warships missiles and radars and defence electronics, which are currently being produced in India. These developments would further boost India’s military capabilities as well strategic reach and footprint in the region.