the international military trade market welcomes more "made in india" products, with the united states becoming the largest export destination
2024-09-07
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the brahmos missile sold by india to the philippines. image source: social media platform "x"
comprehensive compilation zhang haotian
from guns and ammunition to armored vehicles, "made in india" military equipment is now in service in more than 90 countries and regions around the world, driving india's military exports to achieve leapfrog growth in the past 10 years, with an increase of more than 30 times. in particular, in the past two years, the conflicts between russia and ukraine and between palestine and israel have pushed up the demand for cost-effective weapons around the world, opening up unprecedented market opportunities for india's military industry.
indian media have been full of praise for this, expressing india's ambition to become a "new force" in the international military trade market. in a recent special report, india's "the print" website cited official data saying that india's military exports last year were impressive, with a record total of 210.83 billion indian rupees (about 2.63 billion u.s. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 32.5%; in the first quarter of this year, the growth momentum was even stronger, with a year-on-year increase of 78%. according to the plan released by the modi government in 2020, by 2025, india's exports in the fields of aerospace, defense products and services are expected to exceed the 5 billion u.s. dollar mark, which will account for 20% of the total output value of india's domestic military industry.
the largest overseas market is unexpected
although the indian government usually does not disclose the details of its arms sales abroad or even the identity of the buyers, the print has learned through government, industry and diplomatic channels that the export landscape of india's defense products is far broader than the outside world knows.
in terms of product types, from basic ammunition, light weapons (sniper rifles and special aiming systems, etc.) and protective equipment, to advanced vehicles, light torpedoes, simulators, drones and even fast attack ships, indian military products meet the needs of different customers with a diversified product line.
in terms of sales targets, myanmar has traditionally been an important market for indian military exports, and in recent years, israel and armenia have also become important buyers. in addition to drone parts, israel also purchases targeting systems from india, small arms manufactured in india by subsidiaries of israeli companies, plus fuses and ammunition. armenia has purchased artillery and air defense systems from india. indian military industry has also received some independent agreements with higher amounts, such as providing the philippines with "brahmos" supersonic anti-ship missiles.
what is particularly striking is that the united states has become the largest destination for india's military exports, with its purchases accounting for nearly half of india's total defense exports. at present, american companies purchase systems and components worth more than $1 billion from india every year to support their global supply chain. "india must not only become a global manufacturing center for complete weapon systems, but also become part of the supply chain of large companies." sources in indian defense agencies said, "both the united states and france are now purchasing large quantities of products from india, which shows that the domestic military industry has made great progress."
american companies, such as giants such as boeing and lockheed martin, have established in-depth cooperation with india to jointly promote the optimization of military production and supply chain. for example, in 2016, boeing and india's tata group established a joint venture in hyderabad. its factory covers an area of 14,000 square meters and manufactures fuselage structures for boeing's ah-64 "apache" attack helicopters. the factory produces 8 fuselages per month and has supplied more than 200 to date. the american chamber of commerce said that the factory also manufactured more than 1,500 sets of fuselage secondary structures and vertical wing beam boxes, and provided some components for boeing's 737 series of civil aircraft.
bangalore's military industrial cluster has a wider business scope, serving the us ch-47 helicopter, v-22 tilt-rotor aircraft, f-15 and f/a-18 fighter jets, mainly responsible for providing wiring harnesses and electrical components. the state-owned hindustan aeronautics limited is responsible for producing the doors of the f/a-18, and bharat electronics limited has contributed to the identification friend or foe system and voice security system of the p-8 anti-submarine patrol aircraft.
also in hyderabad, another us military giant, lockheed martin, has also promoted india's military exports by collaborating with local indian partners. one of the joint ventures is the sole supplier of tail wing components for the c-130 tactical transport aircraft, and has provided more than 200 sets of components to lockheed martin. another joint venture has exclusive control over the cabin components of the s-92 helicopter, and has delivered more than 157 sets of products to date.
private arms dealers begin to enter the market
in india, military exports have long been considered the exclusive domain of state-owned enterprises. data from the indian ministry of defense shows that the state-owned enterprise "indian arms corporation", which specializes in the production of ammunition, dominates defense exports. although the sources interviewed were vague about the exact export volume and destination, "the print" pointed out that the company currently holds a total foreign order value of about 60 billion rupees, which will be delivered gradually over the next three years.
the predecessor of the indian arms company was the "ordnance factory board". it was restructured into an enterprise in 2021 and achieved sales of 17.26 billion rupees from 2023 to 2024. sources said that the company produces ammunition with a maximum caliber of 155 mm. all models are open to foreign customers and have been sold to some middle eastern countries. some new markets have also been opened up in europe.
thanks to the policy relaxation, private entities in india have begun to get involved in military exports in recent years. however, the private enterprise that contributes the most to exports is not a well-known large company such as tata group, mahindra group or kalyani group, but a company called indo-mim. the company's history can be traced back to 1997. it was originally a joint venture with a 50-50 equity structure. in 2001, the indian shareholders took full control and changed their name to its current name.
according to information from the indian ministry of defense, the company is headquartered in bangalore and its main business is metal injection molding (mim). it claims to be the world's only supplier of precision engineering products with mim as its core technology. indo-mim's customers are spread across more than 50 countries and regions in the americas, europe, and asia, and it also has production lines in the united states and the united kingdom.
the surge in exports is due to the national will
the rapid growth of india's military exports is largely a reflection of the country's will. a retired indian army lieutenant general told the print that india has been exporting weapons to a few friendly countries since the 1950s, but the amount was almost negligible. it was not until 10 years ago that this situation changed significantly. "in september 2014, the modi government formulated and promulgated the defense export strategy, which aims to promote arms exports and standardize supervision."
although india's arms exports have significantly accelerated, the influence of the "top-level design" has not yet fully emerged. "we are actively engaging with foreign countries, especially those in africa, the middle east and the asia-pacific region that are keen to strengthen their national defense. they prefer reasonably priced high-quality products rather than overly expensive western equipment." according to sources, all indian military attachés and diplomats stationed abroad have been instructed to actively engage with the host country and contact domestic companies according to the needs of the other party.
the pursuit of high-end is another new feature of india's defense exports. india is using the ability to manufacture and supply fast patrol boats as a breakthrough to enter the international market. at the same time, with the support of the government, a number of private assembly plants serving military transport aircraft and general-purpose helicopters have been established, which will become part of india's military-industrial ecosystem. in the future blueprint, these factories can fully meet the needs of overseas users. in addition to establishing a manufacturing base, the government and investors are also committed to making india a global center for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of weapons and equipment, and related work is underway.
"just a few years ago, it was unthinkable to sell the brahmos missile to the philippines. now, more and more countries are looking at similar weapon systems... we are focused on completing the orders at hand and every deal is expected to bring in new business, which is why india will be seen as a true arms exporter," said another source.
source: china youth daily client
