India Strengthens Defence Exports, Armenia Emerges As Top Buyer Amid Expanding Global Demand

India is undergoing a major shift in its defence export strategy, moving beyond past reluctance to sell lethal weapons. This change has positioned Armenia as India’s top client for completed weapon systems, including the Akash air defence missile system, Pinaka multi-launch rocket system and 155mm artillery guns.

According to official sources cited by TOI, India’s defence exports for the 2023-24 fiscal year totalled Rs 21,083 crore (around USD 2.6 billion), with Armenia, the United States and France as the leading recipients.

Expanding Clientele and Product Range
Indian defence firms, both public and private, are now exporting a broad spectrum of arms, ammunition, and components to nearly 100 countries. These exports include advanced weapon platforms like BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, Dornier-228 aircraft, artillery guns, radars, Akash missiles, Pinaka rockets and armoured vehicles. Exports to the US are largely subsystems and components, with leading defence contractors such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin sourcing parts like fuselage and wings for aircraft and helicopters from India as part of their global supply chains.

In Hyderabad, the Tata Boeing Aerospace venture exemplifies this trend, manufacturing fuselages and secondary structures for Apache attack helicopters. France, meanwhile, imports significant software and electronic systems from India, according to sources.

Armenia’s Growing Partnership
Over the past four years, Armenia has signed multiple agreements with India for various military products, including missiles, artillery, rocket systems, radars, bullet-proof vests, night-vision devices, and a range of ammunition. Some of these deals were finalised amid Armenia's conflicts with Azerbaijan, which maintains close ties with Turkey and Pakistan. Armenia is also the first foreign buyer of India’s Indigenous Akash air defence missiles, which offer a 25-km interception range. Brazil is among other countries interested in co-producing advanced Akash versions, with inter-governmental agreement talks underway.

Following India's USD 375-million deal in January 2022 to supply BrahMos anti-ship coastal missile batteries to the Philippines, demand for these precision-strike missiles has risen among ASEAN and Gulf countries.

From Importer to Exporter
Though India remains the world’s largest arms importer, accounting for 9.8 per cent of global imports from 2019-2024, it is steadily expanding its domestic defence-industrial base (DIB). The Indian government is curbing specific weapon imports under initiatives like ‘Aatmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) and ‘Make in India,’ while also promoting exports.

In 2023-24, India’s annual defence production hit a record Rs 1.2 lakh crore, with a target of Rs 3 lakh crore by 2028-29 and exports worth Rs 50,000 crore. Today, the defence-industrial base comprises 16 defence public sector units, over 430 licensed companies, and 16,000 MSMEs, with production values tripling since 2014-15. Private sector contribution now accounts for 21 per cent of this growth, underscoring its rising role in India’s defence sector.