The boom in Indian arms exports
From BrahMos and Astra missiles to counter-drone and combat training systems, the private sector is powering an unprecedented surge in global sales of indian defence products
TOP DRAW: India’s BrahMos missile has been exported to the Philippines and Vietnam. Indonesia is its third overseas buyer (Photo: AP)
ISSUE DATE: Aug 31, 2026 | UPDATED: Aug 21, 2026 16:50 IST
For decades, it was its reputation for being among the world’s largest arms importers that India was known for. That has now begun to change. A rise in defence allocations in the Union budget, a concomitant increase in defence capital expenditure and the opening up of the defence sector to private players fuelled a boom in indigenous manufacturing in the past 10 years. An unanticipated benefit of this success has been a remarkable surge in defence exports.