US accounts for half of India’s defense exports – report 

The South Asian country recorded $2.63bn in international military sales during the last financial year

India sends half of its arms exports to the US, The Print reported on Wednesday, citing sources. American companies source over a billion dollars’ worth of systems, subsystems and parts from India annually for their global supply chains, the article noted. 

Boeing, which has massive interests in India, is responsible for a large chunk of these purchases, according to the report. The aerospace manufacturer’s India division is set to open its largest facility in the tech hub Bengaluru, investing $190 million. In 2016, it set up Tata Boeing Aerospace Ltd (TBAL) jointly with Tata Group in southern India’s Telangana state.

Lockheed Martin, which has two joint ventures with Tata in Hyderabad, is another major US defense company which is vested in India’s military export market, according to The Print.

Bengaluru-based Indo-MIM, a manufacturer of metal injection molding (MIM) parts, is reportedly the largest private exporter in the South Asian country’s defense sector. In addition to the US, Israel, Myanmar, and Armenia have been stocking up heavily on Indian defense supplies.

In recent years, New Delhi has prioritized increasing defense exports while boosting its ‘make in India’ initiatives to benefit local manufacturers.

Defense exports reached 210 billion rupees ($2.63 billion) in the last financial year, posting 32.5% annual growth, New Delhi has said, adding that defense exports have increased a whopping 21-fold over the course of the past decade. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s coalition government hopes to increase this figure to 500 billion rupees (nearly $6 billion). 

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Indian officials have attributed the growth to ongoing policy reforms and ‘ease of doing business’ initiatives, notably the digital solutions provided to Indian manufacturers for promoting defense exports.

Meanwhile, India has emerged as the leading arms importer globally between 2019 and 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Despite New Delhi’s push to diversify its defense procurement, Russia has remained the country’s biggest supplier as well as a key technological partner under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. 

For decades, Indian defense companies have produced tanks, fighter jets, warships, missiles and Kalashnikov rifles under licenses obtained from Russian manufacturers, and in the recent past, this defense cooperation has evolved to increase the level of localization.

Notably, BrahMos missiles, co-developed by India and Russia, have emerged as a mainstay in the Indian Armed Forces, as well as a key military export item for New Delhi. Early this year, a batch of BrahMos missiles worth $375 million was supplied to the Philippines. Other nations – including Thailand, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia – have reportedly expressed an interest in acquiring the supersonic cruise missiles.