India’s goal is to treble the size of its defence exports to reach $5 billion by 2024/25.
At the Aero India event, the nation intends to sign defence contracts worth a total of $9 billion.
BENGALURU:
As it aims to increase local manufacturing, India plans to more than treble its yearly defence exports, from $1.5 billion to $5 billion by 2024/25, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who made the announcement on Monday at the opening of the Aero India show.
As its airlines work to complete jetliner purchases to meet civilian demand and pressure international aircraft manufacturers to produce more locally, primarily through partnerships, the nation is looking to sign defence deals worth 750 billion rupees ($9 billion) at the biennial five-day event, its largest-ever.
Modi stated in his remarks at the exhibition that India is now more than simply a market for defence companies; it is also a prospective defence partner. “I urge the private sector in India to increase its investments in the nation’s defence industry.”
According to him, India, which has long been one of the largest buyers of defence gear worldwide, now exports to 75 nations.
Past Indian exports have included supersonic cruise missiles for the Philippines from the Russia-India partnership BrahMos Aerospace as well as Dhruv helicopters for the Philippines, Mauritius, and Ecuador. Malaysia has also been offered the chance to purchase HAL’s Tejas light-combat aircraft.
Acrobatic demonstrations by aircraft, including Sukhoi 30s produced in the Soviet Union, were applauded by officials at the Aero India event, which was hosted at the Air Force Station in Yelahanka near Bengaluru.
bordering rivals who are nuclear-armed India’s Soviet-era air force fleet requires urgent modernization in order to compete with China and Pakistan. Suppliers from the United States and the European Union have been pressing for a larger market share.
Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, India must further diversify its supply chain due to concerns over American sanctions, a potential disruption of Russian supply, and Western pressure on Delhi to cut ties with Moscow.
Airbus, Boeing, Dassault Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industry, BrahMos, SAAB, Rolls Royce, Larsen & Toubro, HAL, and Bharat Electronics Ltd. are among the companies exhibiting at the event.
The airline industry in India is also growing, with Tata Group’s Air India poised to announce a record-breaking contract to purchase roughly 500 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, with a list price of more than $100 billion.
$1 is equal to 82.7250 Indian rupees.
