India pushes Russia aside in arms trade, taking its traditional customers - Reuters
Photo: Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
India intends to offer its weapons to countries that have long purchased Russian products. One of the turning points was Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Reuters reports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to turn India into a global factory has led to the production of inexpensive iPhones and pharmaceutical products worth billions of dollars. Now, India will produce missiles, helicopters, and warships.
According to sources, India is expanding the capabilities of its state-owned Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to offer long-term and low-interest loans to clients.
New Delhi will also sharply increase the number of military attachés at its foreign missions as part of a new program that will allow the government to directly negotiate certain arms deals. India is particularly targeting governments that have long depended on Russia for arms supplies.
India's plans, detailed to Reuters by 15 sources, represent an unprecedented attempt by the government to step into the process of recruiting and financing foreign buyers at a time when the world is rearming and long-standing geopolitical alliances are being reshaped.
Although India has long had a small arms manufacturing sector, its private firms have only recently started producing higher-quality ammunition and equipment.
Global shifts
One of the turning points was Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to an Indian official tasked with increasing arms exports.
Western stockpiles were sent to Kyiv, while Russian factories produced ammunition almost exclusively for their own military needs. This forced other countries - which historically relied on Washington and Moscow, the world's two largest arms exporters - to search for alternatives.
According to government data, in the 2023–2024 fiscal year, India produced $14.8 billion worth of weapons, a 62% increase compared to 2020. Some Indian-made artillery shells have reportedly been found on the front lines in Ukraine supporting Kyiv's defense.
Fast and cheap
Modi's government has set a goal to double arms and equipment exports to $6 billion by 2029. It hopes that sales will go beyond ammunition, small arms, and defense equipment components, which currently make up the majority of its military exports.
India is positioning itself in part as a manufacturer with relatively low costs. According to two Indian sources, India can produce 155mm artillery shells at around $300-400 apiece, while European counterparts sell for over $3,000.
One company stated that Indian firms have also sold howitzers for about $3 million each - roughly half the price of a European version. Private manufacturers such as Adani Defense and Aerospace, as well as armor-and-ammunition maker SMPP, are beginning production of 155mm artillery shells, which they say have already been ordered by foreign governments.
New markets
One of the markets India hopes to enter is Brazil, where an EXIM office opened in January. According to sources, Delhi is in talks to sell Akash missiles to Brazil. Even though India is facing its own shipbuilding capacity shortages, it is also seeking to strike a deal for this sector.
Indian company Bharat Electronics, which develops components for the Akash missile system, opened a marketing office in São Paulo this year, two Indian defense industry sources said.
Delhi is focusing its arms export strategy on African, South American, and Southeast Asian countries.
India plans to send at least 20 new military attachés to foreign embassies by March 2026, three Indian military officials reported. They stated that the countries involved include Algeria, Morocco, Guyana, Tanzania, Argentina, Ethiopia, and Cambodia, adding that Delhi believes it has an opportunity to significantly expand arms exports to these governments.
Like India, many of these countries have a history of purchasing military equipment from the Soviet Union and Russia, which differs from the NATO standards adopted by many Western manufacturers.
One of the early success stories was Armenia, where India sent a military attaché for the first time last year. India has already disrupted Russia's monopoly on Armenia's arms supply - a country that was part of the Soviet Union but has since said it cannot rely on Moscow.
According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russian arms exports reduced to 7.8% of the global market in 2020-2024 compared to 21% in the previous four-year period. This occurred due to international sanctions over the war against Ukraine and rising domestic demand for weaponry.
