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SENAPATHI Report

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Platforms

India 88 platforms

7.62 x 39 mm assault rifle

Ongoing

7.62 mm Kalashnikov AK-203 Assault Rifle

Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited announced in June 2026 that it had reached about 85% indigenisation of the AK-203, with 47 of 50 components made in India. India Today reported in September 2025 that another 5,000 rifles had passed quality checks and been delivered, taking the Amethi plant's cumulative supply to 53,000. Two months earlier, the venture had set a target of 12,000 rifles per month from 2026 and aimed to finish deliveries in December 2030. The December 2021 contract covers 601,427 rifles, while Indian media reported delivery of a separate initial batch of 70,000 Russian-made rifles in January 2022. The programme matters because it pairs a large-volume 7.62 x 39 mm service rifle for the Indian Army with technology transfer and a domestic small-arms supply chain.

Updated 6 Jun 2026

Modular precision-guided stand-off air-to-ground weapon

Signed

AASM HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range)

On 17 February 2026, BEL and Safran signed a Joint Venture Agreement and Master Production Agreement to establish Indian production of HAMMER, subject to regulatory and administrative approvals. The planned 50:50 company follows a November 2025 cooperation agreement and is intended to localise manufacture, supply and maintenance, with indigenisation progressively rising to 60 percent. India officially credited Rafale aircraft, SCALP missiles and HAMMER bombs in the 23-minute opening air mission of Operation Sindoor on 7 May 2025. Specialist press reported an emergency IAF contract for Rafale in July 2020, while Indian media reported a further emergency order for a few hundred weapons for Tejas in November 2021; the opened sources did not provide official contract values or delivery schedules. HAMMER's modular guidance, low-altitude launch envelope and more-than-70-km stand-off reach give India a flexible precision-strike weapon while planned local production reduces import dependence.

Updated 17 Feb 2026

155 mm/52-calibre towed howitzer

Testing

Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS)

On 26 January 2026, the Indian Army paraded the system under the service name Amogh, while an Army officer said it remained under trials for induction. The first product-model gun had been declared ready for mandatory testing in July 2025, with an 18-gun regiment projected within a year of that test. The Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth about Rs 6,900 crore in March 2025 for the guns and 6x6 towing vehicles; the wider procurement covers 307 ATAGS and 327 towing vehicles for 15 regiments. The 155 mm/52-calibre system combines an all-electric drive and automatic ammunition handling with Zone 7 BMCS capability, a stated range beyond 48 km and 18 km/h self-propelled mobility. It matters because the Indian Army's first major private-sector towed-gun purchase replaces smaller vintage guns with a domestically designed long-range system.

Updated 26 Jan 2026

Ballistic missile family

High activity

Agni missile family

On 22 May 2026, the Strategic Forces Command successfully test-launched Agni-I from Chandipur and validated its operational and technical parameters. Two weeks earlier, India tested an Advanced Agni carrying multiple independently targeted re-entry payloads against spatially separated targets across the Indian Ocean Region. An Agni-III operational test followed on 6 February 2026, while the 24 September 2025 Agni-P rail launch demonstrated a canisterised rail-mobile option and confirmed that the road-mobile version had already been inducted. Spanning Agni-I through Agni-V and Agni-P, the family remains the core of India's land-based nuclear deterrent against Pakistan and China, with recent MIRV and mobility advances improving survivability and penetration capability.

Updated 22 May 2026

Medium tactical transport aircraft

Testing

Airbus C-295MW

Indian media reported that the first C-295 assembled at the Tata-Airbus Final Assembly Line in Vadodara completed its maiden test flight on 2026-06-10. It is the first of 40 aircraft to be made in India after Airbus delivered all 16 fly-away aircraft from Seville, the last on 2025-08-02. The Vadodara line, inaugurated on 2024-10-28, is India's first private-sector final assembly line for military aircraft and integrates components already produced at the programme's Hyderabad facility. The contract covers 56 C-295MW aircraft, all with an indigenous electronic-warfare suite, to replace the IAF's HS-748 Avro fleet. The programme matters because it renews tactical airlift while creating an Indian private-sector aircraft production, test, qualification and lifecycle-support ecosystem.

Updated 10 Jun 2026

Mobile short-range surface-to-air missile family

High activity

Akash Surface-to-Air Missile Family (Akash Mk1S, Akash Prime and Akash-NG)

On March 26, 2026, BDL completed the first-off production model of the Advanced Akash Weapon System and said deliveries to the armed forces could begin shortly. A month earlier, the Defence Minister flagged off combat systems for the Army's third and fourth Akash regiments, while Akash-NG had completed Indian Air Force user-evaluation trials in December 2025. Akash Prime also completed a first-of-production-model high-altitude firing in Ladakh in July 2025 after the government credited the family with stellar performance during Operation Sindoor. The family spans the ramjet-powered legacy system, the seeker-equipped Mk1S and Prime upgrades, and the compact solid-motor Akash-NG, with both Army and Air Force users. It matters because Akash supplies a largely indigenous, mobile layer of India's air-defence network while upgraded variants move into production and induction.

Updated 26 Mar 2026

Fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter

Development

AMCA

The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is India's indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter, developed by DRDO's Aeronautical Development Agency with industry partners for the Indian Air Force. A roughly Rs 15,000-crore full-scale engineering development phase is under way, with a request for proposal issued in May 2026 to three private-sector-led consortia to build five prototypes ahead of a targeted 2028-29 first flight and mid-2030s induction. The programme is at a critical juncture: a reported near-tripling of GE F414 engine prices threatens the prototype schedule, while Safran and Rolls-Royce contest the higher-thrust Mk2 engine with full technology-transfer offers.

Updated 24 Jun 2026

Twin-turboprop tactical transport aircraft

Ongoing

Antonov An-32

On 22 April 2026, An-32 aircraft took part in day-and-night operations from the Sultanpur emergency landing facility on the Purvanchal Expressway. Less than a month earlier, the Defence Acquisition Council granted Acceptance of Necessity for a Medium Transport Aircraft programme intended to replace the An-32 and Il-76 fleets. Two An-32s had also demonstrated island access in March 2025 with an air-landed operation at Agatti and combat-free-fall activity at Kavaratti. Antonov records that the type was developed to an Indian Air Force requirement, with a 1980 order covering 118 aircraft and operation from airfields up to 4,500 metres. The 2016 loss of K-2743 with 29 people aboard remained unresolved until imagery of possible debris was obtained at 3,400 metres depth in January 2024. The An-32 remains important for rugged tactical and high-altitude lift, making a controlled transition to its successor essential for India's remote and island logistics.

Updated 22 Apr 2026

Nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine

High activity

Arihant-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines

The Indian Express reported that INS Aridhaman, the third Arihant-class SSBN, was inducted at Visakhapatnam on 3 April 2026, while explicitly noting that there was no official confirmation. Hindustan Times had reported a 3,500 km K-4 launch from INS Arighaat in the Bay of Bengal on 23 December 2025, with further firings still required before induction. The latest officially confirmed class expansion remains the commissioning of INS Arighaat at Visakhapatnam on 29 August 2024. The class now spans the smaller Arihant and Arighaat design and the reported larger, eight-tube Aridhaman configuration, so public specifications are variant-dependent. It matters because a larger, more available SSBN force makes India's sea-based nuclear second-strike capability harder to neutralise.

Updated 3 Apr 2026

Indigenous main battle tank

Ongoing

Arjun Mk1 and Arjun Mk1A Main Battle Tank

On 13 December 2025, the DRDO chairman inaugurated an Arjun Sustenance Engineering Division at CVRDE in Chennai, adding dedicated infrastructure focused on indigenising armoured-vehicle items and subsystems. Six months earlier, DRDO transferred industry licences for the Arjun Mk1A's 70-tonne tank-transporter trailer and for Arjun unit-maintenance and unit-repair vehicles, broadening the programme's support base. The production order remains exposed to propulsion supply: on 20 February 2024 a DRDO official told Janes that deliveries would slip because MTU engines were unavailable. The Ministry of Defence ordered 118 Mk1A tanks from Heavy Vehicles Factory for ₹7,523 crore on 23 September 2021 after the Prime Minister handed a Mk1A to the Army chief that February. The original Mk1 reached its first five-tank production rollout in 2004, while the Mk1A adds 72 features and completed more than 7,000 km of development and user trials during 2012-2015. Arjun matters because it sustains an Indian-designed heavy-tank and support-vehicle industrial base despite the Mk1A engine bottleneck.

Updated 13 Dec 2025

Beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile

High activity

Astra Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile

On 7 July 2026, an Indian government official said India would supply Astra air-to-air missiles to Indonesia, giving the indigenous programme a major export opening in Southeast Asia. On 29 December 2025, the Defence Acquisition Council approved Acceptance of Necessity for enhanced-range Astra Mk-II missiles, following two successful indigenous-seeker launches from a Su-30MKI on 11 July 2025 and a direct-hit LCA AF Mk1 trial on 12 March 2025. Astra is India's indigenous beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile family; the specifications below describe the operational Mk-I, while Mk-II is the longer-range follow-on. For India, the family reduces reliance on imported air-combat weapons and is central to arming Su-30MKI and Tejas fighters against increasingly long-range regional threats.

Updated 7 Jul 2026

Medium-/long-range surface-to-air missile and air-defence system

High activity

Barak-8 Long-/Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM/MRSAM)

On 3 July 2026, the Defence Acquisition Council granted Acceptance of Necessity for procurement of an Indian Army MRSAM weapon system, one item in a package of proposals estimated at about Rs 52,000 crore. On 30 March 2026, the Indian Navy received the Project 17A frigate Dunagiri with a weapon and sensor suite stated to include MFSTAR and an MRSAM complex. In April 2025, INS Surat carried out an MRSAM cooperative engagement against a sea-skimming target, while the Army completed four operational flight trials at long and short ranges and high and low altitudes, paving the way for two regiments. In January 2025, the Ministry of Defence contracted Bharat Dynamics Limited for approximately Rs 2,960 crore of Navy MRSAM missiles under the Buy (Indian) category. Barak-8 is the joint DRDO-IAI family fielded as naval LRSAM and as land-based MRSAM by the Army and Air Force, with vertical launch, a dual-pulse solid motor and an active RF seeker. The family matters because it gives India a common, networked layer of point and area air defence across warships, mobile Army formations and defended Air Force assets.

Updated 3 Jul 2026

Tracked amphibious infantry combat vehicle

Ongoing

BMP-2/2K Sarath Infantry Combat Vehicle

The Times of India reported that BMP-2 vehicles fired an anti-tank guided missile and operated with cage or slat armour during Battle Axe Division drills in Rajasthan on February 17, 2026. Five days earlier, the Defence Acquisition Council approved the overhaul of BMP-II vehicle platforms to extend service life and sustain Army readiness. The newspaper also reported that Ordnance Factory Medak completed annual amphibious trials of BMP-II vehicles and variants at Malkapur Lake on December 12, 2025, four months after the council approved thermal-imager driver night sights for the fleet. A March 2024 contract covers 693 BMP2-to-BMP2M armament upgrades with night enablement, new gunner and commander sights, and a fire-control system with automatic target tracking. The Indian-built Sarath is a 14-tonne tracked amphibious vehicle carrying three crew and seven soldiers, armed with a stabilised 30 mm cannon, a 7.62 mm coaxial gun and Konkurs missiles. Its continuing overhaul and sensor modernisation matter because the BMP-2 remains a core Mechanised Infantry carrier while India works toward a future replacement.

Updated 17 Feb 2026

Twin-turboshaft attack helicopter

Ongoing

Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian

In May 2026, the US State Department approved a possible $198.2 million Foreign Military Sale for follow-on support of India's AH-64E Apache fleet. On 9 April 2026, Indian defence media reported the Army's first live field firing with the type at Pokhran after the helicopters had integrated with mechanised forces during Exercise Amogh Jwala in March. Arrival of the final three Army aircraft in December 2025 completed its six-helicopter order, following the first three delivered in July. The Indian Air Force had already received all 22 aircraft ordered in 2015, with Boeing confirming completion in 2020. The combined 28-aircraft fleet gives India a networked, precision anti-armour and armed-reconnaissance capability for both plains and demanding high-altitude sectors.

Updated 18 May 2026

Strategic and tactical heavy-lift transport aircraft

Stable

Boeing C-17 Globemaster III

On 2026-02-27, an 81 Squadron C-17 airlifted Botswana cheetahs from Gaborone to Gwalior for onward helicopter transfer to Kuno National Park. The Defence Acquisition Council had approved an Acceptance of Necessity for sustainment of the C-17 and C-130J fleets on 2025-08-05 within a broader Rs 67,000 crore package. Boeing says India operates 11 C-17s, with the eleventh delivered in August 2019. Recent missions have ranged from regional disaster relief to the long-range insertion of boats and MARCOS personnel for the 2024 MV Ruen anti-piracy operation. The fleet matters because it gives India inter-theatre lift, rapid humanitarian reach and the ability to deploy heavy forces without relying on chartered transport.

Updated 17 Jul 2026

Tandem-rotor heavy-lift transport helicopter

Stable

Boeing CH-47F(I) Chinook

On 8 June 2026, Indian media reported a Western Command exercise in which an Indian Air Force Chinook inserted a 1 Para Special Forces team and its Light Specialist Vehicle. Two months earlier, a Chinook released a 5.7-tonne simulated Gaganyaan crew module from about 3 km altitude in ISRO's second integrated air-drop test. Western Command also reported in March 2026 that the type had deployed an Army pontoon assault bridge in the western sector, described by media as the first such use in India. Boeing completed delivery of all 15 Indian CH-47F(I)s in 2020, after the first four entered service at Chandigarh in March 2019. Its ability to move artillery, vehicles, troops and disaster-relief loads into austere and high-altitude locations makes the Chinook a critical mobility bridge between India's road heads and forward positions.

Updated 8 Jun 2026

Guided-missile frigate

Ongoing

Brahmaputra-class

On 30 April 2026, a reverse auction for flushing INS Brahmaputra's steam, feed, distilled-water, chilled-water, fresh-water and fuel systems concluded with VATS Filtration Technologies ranked L1 at ₹60,98,913. A separate tender issued on 5 February sought renewal of the ship's auxiliary-cooling-water and bilge pipelines at Mumbai Naval Dockyard, confirming that restoration procurement remained active. Navy officials reported in May 2025 that repairs were in full swing, but no authoritative return-to-sea announcement had appeared by 13 July 2026. Sister ship INS Beas is separately undergoing the class's first steam-to-diesel mid-life upgrade, making the availability of these locally designed escorts important as India balances refits against growing Chinese and Pakistani fleet activity.

Updated 30 Apr 2026

Supersonic cruise missile

High activity

BrahMos

The BrahMos is a two-stage supersonic cruise missile developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a 1998 India-Russia joint venture between DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyeniya, and fielded by all three Indian services from ships, land launchers, Su-30MKI fighters and (in trials) submarines. Combat-proven against Pakistani airbases during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, it has become India's flagship defence export: the Philippines took deliveries from 2024; Vietnam signed quietly by March 2026 — closing a sale first aired at ministerial level in 2016 and confirmed only at the Shangri-La Dialogue; Indonesia signed contracts in July 2026 — reportedly doubling its buy to two batteries — and talks with the UAE are advancing, even as reports of a steep production shortfall cloud delivery timelines.

Updated 7 Jul 2026

Autonomous loyal-wingman unmanned combat aerial vehicle

Development

Combat Air Teaming System Warrior (CATS Warrior)

On 15 May 2026, HAL said it was building the actual CATS Warrior UAV after a successful 2025 ground run and tentatively expected a first flight in 2027. A year earlier, HAL described the programme as a three-tonne UCAV under research and development, with prototypes being built and engines and data links under test. The functional full-scale engineering demonstrator made its first public appearance at Aero India on 11 February 2025, one month after its engine ground run. HAL had launched CATS Warrior at Aero India 2021 and entered low-speed wind-tunnel testing by 2022, but the flight date reported to Janes for 2024 has slipped. CATS Warrior matters because it is HAL's principal indigenous manned-unmanned-teaming route for extending fighter sensing and strike reach while keeping the crewed aircraft farther from defended airspace.

Updated 15 May 2026

Multirole fighter

Stable

Dassault Mirage 2000

On 6 May 2026, MBDA and the Indian Air Force signed an agreement to establish Indian maintenance, repair and mid-life-overhaul capability for MICA missiles, supporting the weapon ecosystem used by upgraded Mirage 2000I/TI fighters. Mirage 2000s also participated in Exercise Vayushakti-26 on 27 February 2026, when more than 130 IAF aircraft conducted day-and-night operations and precision strikes at Pokhran. India's delta-wing fleet has received new radar, electronic-warfare and mission-computer systems, but ageing airframes and spare-parts availability now dominate its sustainment requirements. The aircraft remains important as a proven precision-strike and air-defence asset while the IAF manages reduced squadron strength across the Pakistan and China fronts.

Updated 6 May 2026

Omnirole fighter

High activity

Dassault Rafale

On 25 May 2026, India reportedly finalised the request letter for 114 additional Rafales following the Defence Acquisition Council's 12 February Acceptance of Necessity, although negotiations and final approval remain outstanding. The Indian Navy separately signed its firm order on 28 April 2025 for 26 aircraft—22 carrier-capable single-seaters and four twin-seaters—with delivery scheduled for completion by 2030. The Indian Air Force already operates 36 Rafales, while a June 2025 Dassault-Tata agreement is establishing India's first Rafale-fuselage production line. Together, the operational Air Force fleet and future carrier aircraft strengthen India's two-front deterrence and extend high-end air power across the Indian Ocean.

Updated 17 Jul 2026

Guided-missile destroyer

Stable

Delhi-class

On 18 February 2026, INS Mysore and INS Mumbai represented the Delhi class at International Fleet Review 2026 off Visakhapatnam, showing that the ageing ships remain deployable. INS Delhi had also completed a Manila port call and bilateral sea exercise with the Philippine Navy in August 2025, while INS Mumbai joined Exercise La Pérouse in January 2025. The class combines BrahMos strike missiles, layered Shtil and Barak-1 air defence, helicopters and upgraded sensors in a 6,700–6,900-tonne hull. Continued Delhi-class availability gives India experienced escort and task-group platforms while newer destroyers assume the highest-end air-defence missions.

Updated 18 Feb 2026

155 mm/45-calibre towed howitzer

Approved

Dhanush 155 mm x 45 Calibre Artillery Gun System

On 27 March 2026, the Defence Acquisition Council granted Acceptance of Necessity for a fresh Dhanush Gun System procurement, although the official release disclosed neither its quantity nor a Dhanush-specific value. Earlier that month, Indian media, citing defence officials, reported a proposed 300-gun follow-on for 15 regiments, so that number remains reported rather than contracted. By June 2025, defence sources said two regiments were operational and a third was receiving guns, while warning that the March 2026 completion target for the original 114-gun order was likely to slip. AWEIL's 155 mm/45-calibre system offers a stated range beyond 37 km, automated sighting and navigation, day-night direct fire, shoot-and-scoot capability and NATO-standard ammunition compatibility. The programme matters because it expands India's indigenous long-range towed-artillery fleet while reducing dependence on legacy imports.

Updated 27 Mar 2026

Airborne early warning and control aircraft

High activity

DRDO Netra Airborne Early Warning and Control System

DRDO handed the Netra Mk1 Final Operational Clearance certificate to the Indian Air Force in Bengaluru on 25 June 2026 after the fleet's operational use during the Balakot strikes and Operation Sindoor. In July 2025, Indian media reported final financial approval for six Airbus A321-based Netra Mk2 aircraft at an estimated Rs 19,000-20,000 crore, following a March 2025 DAC clearance for additional AEW&C systems. The Indian Air Force operates three ERJ-145-based Netra Mk1 aircraft, and DRDO's current product data gives their radar 240-degree coverage, 200 km range against a 2 square metre target and 300 km in extended mode. The aircraft combines AESA radar, IFF, electronic and communications support measures, secure data links, battle management and a self-protection suite. The Mk1A and Mk2 expansion matters because it can multiply India's airborne surveillance coverage while reducing dependence on imported heavy AWACS.

Updated 25 Jun 2026

Fleet replenishment and support-ship programme

Construction

Fleet Support Ship programme and Deepak-class fleet tankers

INS Shakti completed a port call at Singapore's Changi Naval Base on 5 July 2026 during an Eastern Fleet operational deployment, confirming the Deepak class remains in active service. Hindustan Shipyard cut steel for the fifth and final new Fleet Support Ship on 8 May 2026, placing all five contracted hulls into the construction sequence. Three new-build keels had been laid by July 2025, including two ships subcontracted to L&T's Kattupalli yard. The Rs 19,000 crore programme calls for five indigenous support ships displacing more than 40,000 t, with delivery scheduled to start in mid-2027, while INS Deepak and INS Shakti provide the current replenishment capability. The programme matters because larger indigenous replenishment ships will extend Indian task-group reach, endurance and disaster-relief capacity beyond the limits of the two current Deepak-class tankers.

Updated 5 Jul 2026

Armed high-altitude long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft system

Signed

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9B SkyGuardian / SeaGuardian

In December 2025, the Defence Acquisition Council approved an additional Navy high-altitude long-endurance RPAS lease that Indian press identified as two MQ-9B SeaGuardians, separate from the 31-aircraft purchase. India signed the 31-aircraft Foreign Military Sales contract on October 15, 2024 for 15 SeaGuardians for the Navy and eight SkyGuardians each for the Army and Air Force, alongside an India-based depot-level MRO and performance-based logistics arrangement. General Atomics' global chief said in March 2025 that ten aircraft would arrive in flyaway condition and 21 would be assembled in India. Published values conflict: the signed deal has been reported at $3.5-3.8 billion, while the earlier U.S. congressional-notification ceiling was $3.99 billion. The leased precursor fleet also has a nomenclature conflict: General Atomics identifies those aircraft as MQ-9A, while Indian Navy reporting calls them MQ-9B; one ditched in September 2024 and was replaced by February 2025. The acquisition gives India persistent armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance coverage across the Indian Ocean and its land frontiers while creating a domestic sustainment base.

Updated 29 Dec 2025

Stealth flying-wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle

Approved

Ghatak Remotely Piloted Strike Aircraft (RPSA)

On 30 April 2026, DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat described Ghatak as an LCA-type stealth aircraft in roughly the 13-tonne class. An Economic Times report on 1 April identified the DAC-approved Remotely Piloted Strike Aircraft as the programme formerly called Ghatak and described a six-prototype development effort followed by a reported fleet of 60-67 aircraft. The Defence Acquisition Council had granted Acceptance of Necessity for the IAF RPSA on 27 March 2026, after the Defence Procurement Board recommended taking the programme forward earlier that month. The smaller SWiFT technology demonstrator made its maiden autonomous flight in July 2022 and completed a seventh, final-configuration flying-wing trial in December 2023. Ghatak matters because it is India's principal indigenous route to a low-observable unmanned system for deep strike, suppression of air defences and stealth ISR without exposing an onboard crew.

Updated 30 Apr 2026

Twin-engine multirole utility helicopter

Ongoing

HAL Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv

HAL handed over four ALH Dhruv Mk III Maritime Role helicopters to the Indian Coast Guard in Bengaluru on April 10, 2026, the first batch under its nine-helicopter 2024 contract. The Ministry of Defence had separately ordered six more Coast Guard Mk III Maritime Role helicopters for Rs 2,901 crore on March 3, 2026. Navy and Coast Guard Dhruvs returned to public flying at the February 18 International Fleet Review under a requirement for swashplate examination after every 100 flight hours, ending the maritime fleets' prolonged post-crash stand-down. The January 5, 2025 Porbandar crash killed three Coast Guard personnel and grounded ALHs across all four services; Army and Air Force variants were cleared on May 1, while Indian media later reported a Non-Rotating Swashplate Bearing manufacturing change for maritime aircraft. Dhruv matters because its utility, casualty-evacuation, reconnaissance, search-and-rescue and maritime configurations form a domestically built helicopter backbone from high-altitude land bases to ships at sea.

Updated 10 Apr 2026

Indigenous light multirole combat helicopter

Ongoing

HAL Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand

HAL's Prachand structure-assembly line and automated storage system were inaugurated at the New Helicopter Factory in Tumakuru on April 13, 2026, advancing preparations for series production. The fleet returned to flying on June 11, 2025 after a safety stand-down linked to the January ALH Dhruv crash and replacement of specified sub-components. On March 28, 2025, the Ministry of Defence signed two contracts with HAL for 156 helicopters worth Rs 62,700 crore excluding taxes: 66 for the Air Force and 90 for the Army, with supply to start from the third year and run for five years. The initial 15-helicopter limited-series batch was approved in March 2022 and the Air Force formally inducted and named Prachand at Jodhpur that October; a Mistral-2 firing followed at Chandipur on December 2, 2024. Prachand matters because it gives India a domestically produced attack helicopter designed for high-altitude ground-attack and aerial-combat missions along mountainous frontiers.

Updated 13 Apr 2026

Light multirole fighter

Ongoing

HAL Tejas Mk1 / Mk1A

As of 26 June 2026, the first Tejas Mk1A handover remained delayed: HAL had received six F404-IN20 engines, but the sixth developed a snag during inspection and the first five fighters still required IAF acceptance. The Ministry of Defence signed a contract on 25 September 2025 for 97 additional Mk1A aircraft worth more than ₹62,370 crore, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2027-28 and run for six years. The operational Mk1 and the more capable Mk1A are central to replacing retired MiG-21s and rebuilding IAF squadron strength against the combined China-Pakistan challenge. This page covers only Tejas Mk1 and Mk1A; the separately tracked Tejas Mk2 programme is outside its scope.

Updated 26 Jun 2026

Twin-turboprop light transport and maritime-surveillance aircraft

Signed

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Dornier Do-228

In February 2026, the Ministry of Defence signed a Rs 2,312 crore contract with HAL for eight Dornier 228 aircraft and operational-role equipment for the Indian Coast Guard. The Indian Navy's 25-aircraft fleet entered a Rs 2,890 crore mid-life-upgrade programme contracted in March 2024, covering new avionics and primary sensors. Separate 2023 contracts added six upgraded aircraft for the Indian Air Force and two maritime-equipped aircraft for the Coast Guard. HAL builds the aircraft at Kanpur for route transport, pilot training, maritime surveillance, search and rescue and electronic-warfare support, with service-specific sensors and mission systems. The Do-228 therefore provides India an indigenous, relatively light platform that can sustain coastal surveillance and connectivity from short or semi-prepared runways.

Updated 12 Feb 2026

Heavy airborne warning and control system aircraft

Stable

IAI ELW-2090 Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control System

The Indian Air Force fielded a Phalcon AWACS in a joint in-situ air exercise with the Royal Thai Air Force on 11 February 2026, and open reporting in June 2026 still counted three aircraft. The fleet combines Israeli IAI ELW-2090 mission systems with Russian A-50EI and IL-76 airframes to provide 360-degree strategic surveillance, battle management, ELINT, COMINT and broadband data links. The original three-aircraft contract was signed on 5 March 2004, and the first two systems were delivered on 25 May 2009 and 25 March 2010 before the fleet reached three aircraft in 2011. Proposed two-aircraft follow-ons were reported as approved or near approval in 2016 and 2020, but no signed follow-on contract was confirmed in the sources opened for this entry. Phalcon remains India's heavy airborne command-and-control tier, but the unchanged three-aircraft fleet makes the expansion of indigenous Netra systems operationally important.

Updated 25 Jun 2026

Strategic transport aircraft and aerial-refuelling tanker fleet

Watch

Ilyushin Il-76MD and Il-78MKI Fleet

On 27 March 2026, the Defence Acquisition Council granted Acceptance of Necessity for a Medium Transport Aircraft programme intended to replace the IAF's Il-76 and An-32 fleets. The aircraft remain operational: one Il-76 and two Il-78s supported India's Bright Star deployment to Egypt through 10 September 2025, while Il-78s also performed tanker missions during major exercises earlier that year. The IAF formally inducted the Il-76 on 16 June 1985, and a 2017 CAG audit recorded 14 transport aircraft plus six Il-78 tankers acquired in 2003-04. That audit identified low serviceability, delayed overhaul and 1985-vintage avionics, although current fleet availability is not publicly disclosed. Together, the Il-76 heavy-lift and Il-78 tanker force still supplies strategic reach, so the replacement decision matters directly to India's ability to move forces and sustain fighters at distance.

Updated 17 Jul 2026

Layered anti-ballistic-missile defence system

Testing

Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme

DRDO completed a three-test series on June 10-11, 2026, officially reporting successful multi-layer BMD engagements and a system capability intended to address threats up to intercontinental ballistic missiles; Naval News identified the BMD interceptors as AD-1 and AD-2. A July 2024 Phase-II endo-atmospheric trial validated the networked weapon system against a target representing a 5,000 km-class ballistic missile. The official 2022 description gives AD-1 both low-exo and endo roles, while Naval News describes AD-1 as the shorter-range endo layer and AD-2 as the longer-range exo layer. Phase I established PAD, AAD and PDV interceptors, and a 2023 naval-platform trial extended the demonstrated architecture to sea-based endo-atmospheric defence. The programme matters because it gives India an indigenous, increasingly networked second layer against ballistic-missile attack beyond conventional surface-to-air defence.

Updated 11 Jun 2026

Light tank for high-altitude operations

Trials

Indian Light Tank Zorawar

On June 5, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the first Zorawar prototype at Larsen & Toubro's Hazira facility and was briefed on its capabilities. One day earlier, the Army chief said issues found during development and trials were being addressed through normal design refinement and projected induction in 2028-29, subject to successful trials, user evaluation and production readiness. An October 17, 2025 Ministry of Defence social-media post cited by Janes said DRDO fired a Nag Mk 2 anti-tank guided missile from Zorawar for the first time and met range, top-attack manoeuvrability and accuracy objectives. The prototype had already fired accurately above 4,200 metres in December 2024 after completing its first desert developmental firing phase in September, while the Indian Air Force demonstrated its airliftability. Developed by DRDO's CVRDE with Larsen & Toubro, it combines a 105 mm gun with amphibious mobility and high-angle fire, against an Army requirement reported as 315-354 tanks. Zorawar matters because a lighter, air-transportable tank can move firepower into India's high-altitude frontier faster than the heavier T-72 and T-90 fleets.

Updated 11 Jun 2026

Aircraft carrier

Stable

INS Vikramaditya

On 20 October 2025, INS Vikramaditya appeared in an Indian Navy steampast off Goa, confirming its return to fleet activity after a five-month short refit reported complete on 13 May 2025. The 44,500-tonne STOBAR carrier operates MiG-29K fighters and helicopters and remains one of India's two operational aircraft carriers. Its readiness matters because India needs continuous carrier availability across the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean while INS Vikrant develops its operational capability. The April 2025 purchase of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft for both carriers points to a future air-wing transition, although Vikramaditya's current fixed-wing force remains the MiG-29K.

Updated 20 Oct 2025

Aircraft carrier

High activity

INS Vikrant

INS Vikrant (IAC-1) is India's first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier — a roughly 45,000-tonne STOBAR ship from Cochin Shipyard, commissioned on 2 September 2022 with an air wing of MiG-29K fighters and Ka-31, MH-60R and ALH helicopters. She led the carrier battle group that confined the Pakistan Navy to port during Operation Sindoor in May 2025 and was the centrepiece of India's 85-warship International Fleet Review in February 2026. Her next chapter is an air-wing recapitalisation — 26 Rafale-M fighters signed in April 2025 for delivery from around 2028 — under mounting benchmark pressure from China's three-carrier force, whose J-15T fighters now fly interchangeably from every Chinese deck.

Updated 3 Jul 2026

National air-defence command, control and sensor-fusion network

Ongoing

Integrated Air Command and Control System

On 2025-09-30, the Defence Minister identified IACCS working with the Army's Akashteer and the Navy's Trigun as the joint operational backbone that produced a unified real-time picture during Operation Sindoor. The Defence Acquisition Council had also approved a SPYDER upgrade for IACCS integration in August 2025, extending the network's weapon-system connectivity. During the May 2025 conflict, IACCS fused data from sensors and air-defence assets to support coordinated detection, identification and engagement of aerial threats. Batch-III software site-acceptance testing was still under way at the end of 2024, with tests completed at three nodes and all IAF and civil radars reported integrated. IACCS matters because it turns dispersed radars, aircraft and weapons into a national command network with shorter reaction times and joint-service situational awareness.

Updated 8 Oct 2025

Strike aircraft

Watch

Jaguar DARIN III

On 3 July 2026, the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that nine retired RAF Jaguars—five GR1s and four T2s—had been transferred to the IAF since 1 January, with Indian reporting identifying them as donor aircraft for spares. India nevertheless fielded Jaguars in the 27 February 2026 Vayushakti demonstration, following a December 2025 report that more than 20 retired Omani aircraft would also be dismantled for spares. The 9 July 2025 fatal trainer crash, the third Jaguar accident in five months, reinforced concern about the ageing force even as DARIN III avionics preserve its precision-strike value. Jaguar remains useful for deep strike and as a numbers bridge for the IAF, but donor-airframe dependence and modern regional air defences make sustainment and survivability increasingly consequential.

Updated 3 Jul 2026

Submarine-launched ballistic missile family

Ongoing

K-series SLBMs

On 3 April 2026, India commissioned INS Aridhaman, its third nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine, adding another prospective K-series deployment platform. A reported K-4 launch from INS Arighaat on 23 December 2025 followed the submarine's first K-4 firing on 27 November 2024, although reporting indicated that further validation was required before full operational status. The operational shorter-range K-15 Sagarika reaches 700-750 km, while the solid-fuel K-4 extends public estimates to approximately 3,500 km. The longer-range system matters because it gives India's sea-based retaliatory force greater patrol flexibility and target coverage against China while retaining coverage of Pakistan.

Updated 3 Apr 2026

155 mm/52-calibre tracked self-propelled howitzer

Ongoing

K9 Vajra-T 155 mm/52-calibre Tracked Self-Propelled Gun

Indian media reported on 12 June 2026 that the Army was preparing a proposed Rs 23,000 crore purchase of 300 more K9 Vajra-T guns; the proposal had not yet been approved. An India-Republic of Korea joint statement on 20 April 2026 said second-batch production was in progress, following the Rs 7,628.70 crore Ministry of Defence contract of December 2024 and Hanwha Aerospace's $253 million agreement with L&T in April 2025. The first 100 were ordered in 2017 for about Rs 4,500 crore, formally entered service in November 2018 and were all delivered by February 2021. The Indian-adapted 155 mm/52-calibre tracked system combines a reported 40 km standard-ammunition reach, up to 50 km with extended-range projectiles, high mobility, 6-8 rounds-per-minute burst fire and shoot-and-scoot operation. It matters by giving India's armoured formations protected, mobile deep fire in deserts and high-altitude sectors while sustaining domestic production.

Updated 12 Jun 2026

Diesel-electric attack submarine

Ongoing

Kalvari-class (Project 75) submarines

President Droupadi Murmu undertook a more than two-hour dived sortie from Karwar aboard INS Vaghsheer on 28 December 2025, demonstrating the sixth boat in active service. In August 2025, Indian media reported that INS Kalvari would finish its refit without the planned DRDO air-independent-propulsion plug because the system was not yet operationally ready, shifting hopes to INS Khanderi's later refit. INS Vaghsheer had completed the six-boat Project 75 series when it was commissioned in Mumbai on 15 January 2025. Separate December 2024 contracts worth about Rs 2,867 crore cover an indigenous AIP plug and integration of an electronic heavyweight torpedo across the class. The class matters because it provides India's newest complete conventional-submarine line while preserving domestic construction skills for follow-on programmes.

Updated 28 Dec 2025

Anti-submarine warfare corvette

Stable

Kamorta-class

On 5 July 2026, INS Kavaratti concluded a three-day port call at Changi Naval Base with INS Udaygiri and INS Shakti, after calls at Sattahip on 29 June and Ho Chi Minh City on 24 June during an Eastern Fleet deployment to Southeast Asia. In 2025, Kavaratti exercised with Indonesia in Samudra Shakti and fired 17 indigenous Extended Range Anti-Submarine Rockets during successful user trials. Project 28 comprises four Indian-built stealth corvettes specialized for detecting and attacking submarines while operating helicopters and modern sensors. Their sustained eastern deployment gives India both submarine-hunting capacity and a visible naval presence across the Bay of Bengal, South China Sea and approaches to the Malacca Strait.

Updated 5 Jul 2026

Guided-missile destroyer

Stable

Kolkata-class

On 19 June 2026, the Ministry of Defence signed an approximately ₹425 crore contract for 12 indigenous 1.25 MW gas-turbine generator sets intended for Kolkata-class and other frontline destroyers, establishing a new equipment-upgrade pathway. Weeks earlier, INS Kolkata intervened in the Indian Ocean on 27 May 2026 after an attempted piracy attack against the merchant vessel Mashallah 1. The three Project 15A destroyers carry BrahMos and Barak-8 missiles and remain central to Indian carrier groups and long-range deployments. Their sustained use matters for maintaining fleet air defence and anti-surface reach while the newer Project 15B ships expand India's destroyer force.

Updated 19 Jun 2026

Guided-missile corvette

Stable

Kora-class

INS Kirch participated in the International Fleet Review off Visakhapatnam on 18 February 2026, after INS Kora exercised with Japanese and Indonesian warships near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 13 February. Project 25A produced compact GRSE-built corvettes carrying 16 Kh-35 anti-ship missiles for concentrated anti-surface warfare. INS Karmuk's participation in SITMEX-25 and Operation Brahma shows that the mature class still performs combat training, presence and humanitarian missions. For India, the ships retain useful sea-denial and maritime-security roles around the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman approaches.

Updated 18 Feb 2026

Special-operations tactical transport aircraft

Ongoing

Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules

At Exercise Vayushakti-26 on 2026-02-27, the C-130J demonstrated an assault landing and casualty evacuation from an advanced landing ground at Pokhran. Tata Advanced Systems and Lockheed Martin had broken ground in Bengaluru on 2025-12-08 for an Indian C-130J maintenance, repair and overhaul facility planned to receive its first aircraft in early 2027. A month earlier, the Air Chief inaugurated the roughly 13,000-foot Mudh-Nyoma air base in Ladakh by landing a C-130J about 30 km from the Line of Actual Control, Reuters reported. Lockheed Martin describes the IAF fleet as 12 long-fuselage C-130J-30s configured for special operations. The platform matters because it combines austere-strip access, high-altitude performance and special-forces lift with a growing in-country sustainment base.

Updated 27 Feb 2026

155 mm/39-calibre ultra-light towed howitzer

Ongoing

M777A2 155 mm Ultra Lightweight Howitzer

On 18 May 2026, the United States reported to Congress a possible $230 million long-term M777A2 sustainment sale to India. At the Army Day parade in Jaipur on 15 January 2026, PIB identified M777 among the systems employed in Operation Sindoor, after Indian and US crews had trained together on the gun in Alaska in September 2025. India's programme covers 145 M777A2 guns under a 2016 $737 million Letter of Offer and Acceptance and a 2017 $542 million BAE Systems production contract, with the first systems formally dedicated to service at Devlali in November 2018. Its sub-10,000-pound 155 mm/39-calibre carriage, digital fire control and helicopter-lift compatibility give mountain formations precision fire without dependence on heavy roads. For India, that combination makes the M777 a strategically mobile artillery layer for Himalayan sectors and rapid reinforcement.

Updated 18 May 2026

Third-generation man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile

Approved

Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM)

On July 3, 2026, the Defence Acquisition Council granted Acceptance of Necessity for Indian Army MPATGM systems within acquisition proposals estimated at Rs 52,000 crore. The approval followed a successful January 11, 2026 top-attack flight against a moving tank target at KK Ranges, Ahilya Nagar, using indigenous IIR guidance, tandem warhead, propulsion, fire control and sighting technologies. At Pokhran on April 13, 2024, warhead flight and penetration trials concluded the technology-development demonstration and cleared the system for final user evaluation. The final deliverable configuration had already validated minimum-range performance in January 2022, building on direct-attack validation in 2021 and top-attack and range trials between 2018 and 2019. The 14.5 kg missile, with a BDL-listed 2.5 km maximum range, soft launch and day/night fire-and-forget guidance, gives Indian infantry a domestically supported answer to modern armour and reduces dependence on imported ATGMs.

Updated 3 Jul 2026

Ramjet-powered beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile

Stable

Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM)

On 26 January 2026, IAF-released footage publicly showed a Meteor carried by an Indian Rafale. Hindustan Times later reported Meteor combat use during the 7-10 May 2025 Operation Sindoor fighting, but India has not officially confirmed firing the missile in that operation. At Aero India on 10 February 2025, MBDA explicitly described Meteor as arming India's Rafale fleet. Meteor entered the IAF inventory through the Rafale weapon package, and delivery of all 36 IAF Rafales was completed on 15 December 2022. Meteor's sustained-thrust ramjet, active-RF seeker and data-linked mid-course guidance give India a high-energy BVR option that materially strengthens air combat against advanced regional threats.

Updated 26 Jan 2026

Multirole fighter

Ongoing

MiG-29

On 5 June 2026, the Indian Navy publicly sought domestic development of 80 mm rockets for its MiG-29K/KUB fleet, planning 273 live and 2,400 practice rounds after prototype qualification. On 14 May, an IAF depot completed the first indigenous overhaul of a naval MiG-29K ejection seat, while the Air Chief flew a MiG-29UPG operational formation sortie at a western forward base on 12 March. This page covers the IAF's land-based MiG-29UPG and the Navy's carrier-capable MiG-29K/KUB, which remains a strike fighter on INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant. The family remains important for air defence against Pakistan and for Indian carrier air power while domestic sustainment capacity expands.

Updated 5 Jun 2026

Medium-lift military transport and assault helicopter

Ongoing

Mil Mi-17V-5

On 22 April 2026, Mi-17V-5 helicopters joined day-and-night operations from the Sultanpur emergency landing facility on the Purvanchal Expressway. In 2025 the type airlifted 30 NDRF personnel and 1.7 tonnes of relief load from Bagdogra to Chhaten and also participated in the India-US Tiger Triumph exercise. India inducted its first Mi-17V-5s on 17 February 2012, and delivery of 151 helicopters was reported complete with a final batch of three in February 2016. The fleet's record also includes a 2019 friendly-fire loss at Budgam and the 2021 Coonoor controlled-flight-into-terrain accident, highlighting the importance of air-defence coordination and weather procedures. Its combination of 4,000 kg payload, 36-troop capacity and all-weather equipment makes the Mi-17V-5 a central Indian capability for high-altitude logistics, disaster response and troop movement.

Updated 3 May 2026

Family of vehicle- and helicopter-launched anti-tank guided missiles

Approved

Nag Anti-Tank Guided Missile Family (Nag, Nag Mk 2, HELINA/Dhruvastra and SANT)

On October 23, 2025, the Defence Acquisition Council granted Acceptance of Necessity for the Indian Army to procure the tracked Nag Missile System Mk-II. A Ministry of Defence social-media post on October 17, subsequently reported by Janes on October 20, said the first Nag Mk 2 firing from the Zorawar light tank met its range, top-attack manoeuvrability and accuracy objectives. In March 2025, the Ministry of Defence signed a Rs 1,801.34 crore contract for the baseline tracked NAMIS, while January trials of Nag Mk 2 and Nag Missile Carrier version-2 destroyed every target at minimum and maximum range and left that system ready for induction. Separate 2023 approvals covered Army HELINA and Indian Air Force Dhruvastra procurement, after HELINA high-altitude validation and a SANT helicopter launch demonstrating strike capability up to 10 km. Official BDL and DRDO data disagree on the baseline missile's maximum range, at 4,000-5,000 m, and diameter, at 150-155 mm. The family matters because it gives Indian mechanised formations and helicopter units indigenous day/night, fire-and-forget anti-armour weapons across short and stand-off ranges.

Updated 23 Oct 2025

High-speed stealth anti-surface warfare corvette programme

Construction

Next Generation Missile Vessel (NGMV) programme

Kongsberg Maritime contracted to supply 18 Kamewa waterjets for the six-vessel programme on 8 April 2026, its largest single waterjet order to date. A July 2025 Cochin Shipyard tender showed detailed design and hull-fabrication planning under way for the 85 m lead ship, BY-531. Construction formally began with first-steel cutting at Kochi on 16 December 2024, after GE Aerospace selected the LM2500 marine gas turbine for the class. The March 2023 contract is worth Rs 9,804.98 crore and calls for the first ship within 48 months and the last within 108 months. The programme matters because it will give India a domestically built, sensor- and missile-intensive sea-denial force for surface, land-attack and chokepoint missions.

Updated 8 Apr 2026

Long-endurance offshore patrol vessel programme

Construction

Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel (NGOPV) programme

GRSE launched Yard 3039 Sanghmitra at Kolkata on 20 May 2026, the programme's second launched ship and the first from GRSE. Goa Shipyard had launched Yard 1280 Shachi on 31 March 2026, with both yards now building the 11-vessel order concurrently. The March 2023 contract allocates seven vessels to Goa Shipyard and four to GRSE for Rs 9,781 crore, with deliveries originally scheduled to begin in September 2026. GRSE's published design is approximately 113 m long, displaces about 3,000 t and has an 8,500 nmi endurance at 14 knots; these dimensions should not be assumed for the separately designed GSL ships. The programme matters because it expands India's capacity for persistent surveillance, offshore-asset protection, anti-piracy, search-and-rescue and humanitarian missions across the Indian Ocean.

Updated 20 May 2026

Stealth frigate

Ongoing

Nilgiri-class

On 11 July 2026, INS Mahendragiri became the sixth of seven Project 17A frigates inducted into the Indian Navy. That followed INS Dunagiri on 21 June and INS Taragiri on 3 April, while Vindhyagiri remains the sole outstanding ship at GRSE. Designed by the Navy's Warship Design Bureau and split between MDL and GRSE, these approximately 6,670-tonne frigates combine reduced signatures with BrahMos, medium-range surface-to-air missiles, MF-STAR radar and anti-submarine systems. For India, their rapid induction adds blue-water air-defence, anti-surface and anti-submarine capacity across the Indian Ocean while demonstrating domestic production of complex frontline warships.

Updated 11 Jul 2026

Land-attack cruise missile family

Testing

Nirbhay / ITCM / LRLACM

DRDO successfully flight-tested LRLACM from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island on 15 June 2026 and reported that every test objective was met. This family covers the developmental line from the original Nirbhay through the indigenous-propulsion ITCM to LRLACM, which has been tested from a mobile ground launcher and is intended for ground and ship deployment. The programme is giving India a domestically controlled, long-range subsonic precision-strike option while reducing dependence on imported cruise-missile propulsion. Its progress expands standoff choices in Pakistan- and China-facing contingencies and across the Indian Ocean, although service induction has not been announced.

Updated 15 Jun 2026

Multi-barrel rocket-launcher artillery system

Testing

Pinaka Multiple Launch Rocket System

DRDO flight-tested the Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket at the Indian Army's user-defined minimum range of 60 km on 8 July 2026, after demonstrating the variant's 120 km maximum range in December 2025. Solar Group also completed a proof trial of 24 extended-range production rockets at Pokhran in March 2026. Contracts signed in February 2025 cover Rs 10,147 crore of enhanced-range and area-denial Pinaka ammunition, while the guided variant completed its prerequisite PSQR validation trials in November 2024. Six additional regiments were contracted in 2020 with 114 launchers, 45 command posts and 330 vehicles. By combining legacy area fire, guided rockets, extended-range ammunition and a 120 km long-range variant on in-service launchers, Pinaka gives India an expanding indigenous family of rocket artillery.

Updated 8 Jul 2026

Short-range quasi-ballistic missile

Testing

Pralay

On 1 May 2026, DRDO Chairman Samir V. Kamat said Pralay was in the final stages of testing and nearing readiness. Its latest flight event on 31 December 2025 salvo-launched two missiles from the same launcher during user evaluation, following consecutive minimum- and maximum-range trials on 28-29 July 2025. Pralay is a road-mobile, solid-propellant conventional missile that draws on technology from the earlier Prahaar tactical-missile programme. Its 150-500 km reach and heavy payload give India a rapid theatre-strike option against airfields, command nodes and other targets across the Line of Control and Line of Actual Control.

Updated 1 May 2026

Short-range ballistic missile family

Stable

Prithvi missile family

On 17 July 2025, the Strategic Forces Command successfully test-fired Prithvi-II from Chandipur alongside Agni-I and validated all operational and technical parameters. The family covers the obsolete Army Prithvi-I, the still-active Prithvi-II and the ship-launched Dhanush variant, which was last publicly test-fired in 2018. Prithvi-II remains part of India's nuclear-capable short-range deterrent, although newer solid-fuel systems such as Pralay are better suited to rapid conventional operations. Continued Strategic Forces Command launches keep this legacy liquid-fuel family relevant to readiness and deterrence, particularly in the India-Pakistan theatre.

Updated 17 Jul 2025

Automated mobile air-defence command-and-control system

Ongoing

Project Akashteer Automated Air Defence Control and Reporting System

Reuters reported on 2026-06-22 that India and the United Arab Emirates were in preliminary talks over a possible Akashteer sale, while neither government publicly confirmed a deal. Akashteer had already been used operationally during the 2025 India-Pakistan confrontation, when the government said it fused sensors and supported automated engagement of drones and missiles during Operation Sindoor. The Army and Air Force had connected Akashteer to IACCS at one site by January 2025, with further sites still being integrated. The Indian Army began induction in April 2024 after the Ministry of Defence placed a Rs 1,982 crore Buy (Indian-IDMM) order with BEL in March 2023. By digitising the Army's sensor-to-shooter chain and sharing a common air picture with the other services, Akashteer is central to India's effort to build a joint, mobile air-defence network.

Updated 22 Jun 2026

Mobile, layered long-range surface-to-air missile system

Development

Project Kusha (XRSAM / Extended Range Air Defence System)

On April 8, 2026, BEL said it had acquired 75 hectares at Chitrakoot for a facility costing more than Rs 600 crore that will cater to Kusha alongside QRSAM and next-generation radars; this is industrial preparation, not an operational-system production order. On February 16, the Ministry of Defence listed Project Kusha MR/LR SAM among BEL's ongoing R&D activities. In August 2025, Indian media reported a revised sequence of M1, M2 and M3 trials in 2026, 2027 and 2028, with development targeted for 2028 and induction from 2030; these remain reported plans. The programme was disclosed as XRSAM-IAF in 2019 and, by November 2023, Janes reported Project Kusha in initial design with three 150 km, 250 km and 350 km interceptor layers and five units cleared for the IAF. It matters because a successful indigenous system would add mobile, long-range depth to India's air-defence network and reduce reliance on imported high-end interceptors.

Updated 12 Jun 2026

Diesel-electric attack submarine (SSK) acquisition programme

Negotiation

Project-75I Submarines

Project-75I is the Indian Navy's programme to build six AIP-equipped diesel-electric attack submarines at Mazagon Dock, Mumbai, with Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as technology partner — a scaled-up Type 214 derivative displacing over 3,000 tonnes with fuel-cell air-independent propulsion and vertical-launch land-attack cruise missiles. With cost negotiations concluded at roughly US$8-10 billion and the Finance Ministry's clearance in hand, the deal sits one Cabinet Committee on Security signature away from becoming the world's most expensive conventional-submarine contract. Urgency has sharpened as Pakistan inducts the first of eight Chinese Hangor-class AIP boats and signals Bay of Bengal deployments.

Updated 29 Jun 2026

Mobile short-range surface-to-air missile system

Negotiation

Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM / Anant Shastra)

On April 8, 2026, BEL's plan for a more than INR 600 crore Chitrakoot manufacturing facility explicitly included QRSAM among its future programmes. Indian media reported in September 2025 that the Army had issued BEL an approximately INR 30,000 crore tender for the system, now called Anant Shastra, after the platform joined DRDO's maiden Integrated Air Defence Weapon System test in August. Six Army evaluation flights in September 2022 exercised long-, short-, high- and low-altitude, receding, crossing, salvo, day and night scenarios, and DRDO then said the system was ready for induction. QRSAM combines a mobile six-canister launcher, active phased-array radars, automated command and control, and an active-homing RF seeker to protect manoeuvring Army formations. It matters because it closes the short-range air-defence gap for armoured columns with an indigenous system designed to search and track on the move and fire on short halts.

Updated 8 Apr 2026

Guided-missile destroyer

Watch

Rajput-class

On 18 February 2026, INS Rana, INS Ranvir and INS Ranvijay appeared at International Fleet Review 2026 off Visakhapatnam, confirming that three Rajput-class destroyers remain in service. The class is nevertheless in phased retirement: INS Ranjit was decommissioned in May 2019 and lead ship INS Rajput in May 2021. The Soviet-designed ships have been extensively Indianized, with BrahMos fitted to Ranvir and Ranvijay alongside later radar, air-defence and sonar upgrades. Their remaining value lies in training, regional engagement and supplementary strike capacity, but age and fleet renewal make further retirements a continuing watch item.

Updated 18 Feb 2026

Supersonic long-range air-to-ground precision-strike missile

Ongoing

Rampage long-range air-to-ground precise-strike missile

At the 26 January 2026 Republic Day parade, the Indian Air Force publicly displayed Rampage missiles on a Su-30MKI, and Naval News said the weapons were also intended for the Navy's MiG-29K fleet. In August 2025, Indian media reported that the IAF was pursuing a large fast-track follow-on order and considering domestic production after using Rampage during Operation Sindoor. Hindustan Times reported that one Rampage and one Crystal Maze weapon struck the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters at Muridke during the 7 May 2025 opening attacks. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had announced IAF induction on Su-30, MiG-29 and Jaguar aircraft on 30 April 2024, although the IAF told Janes it had issued no formal notification and MiG-29 operational integration was still uncertain. Indian range reporting remains conflicted at 150-250 km, but Rampage's supersonic, anti-jam GPS/INS-guided stand-off strike capability gives India a rapid way to attack defended fixed and time-critical targets while reducing risk to aircrew.

Updated 26 Jan 2026

Air-launched anti-radiation and precision-strike missile family

Testing

RudraM Missile Family (RudraM-I and RudraM-II)

On 2 June 2026, DRDO and the Indian Air Force conducted fresh RudraM-II flight-tests under extreme release conditions; the missiles followed critical trajectories and struck a predefined target with pinpoint accuracy. Janes classifies RudraM-II as a 300 km-class solid-propellant weapon for Su-30MKI and Mirage 2000 aircraft, with anti-radiation and ground-attack configurations. An earlier Su-30MKI launch off Odisha on 29 May 2024 validated propulsion, control and guidance, while RudraM-I completed a 5 m miss-distance live-warhead mission at Chandan Range on 2 May 2024. RudraM-I evolved from the NGARM first flight-tested against a radar target in January 2019 and publicly demonstrated against an emitting target in October 2020. The family matters because it gives India an indigenous stand-off SEAD and precision-strike tool for opening routes through hostile air defences and reducing reliance on imported anti-radiation missiles.

Updated 2 Jun 2026

Long-range surface-to-air missile system

Ongoing

S-400 Triumf

The S-400 Triumf is a Russian road-mobile long-range air defence system, developed by Almaz-Antey, that pairs a 600 km-class surveillance radar with a four-tier interceptor mix able to engage aircraft, drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles out to 400 km. India signed a US$5.43 billion deal for five squadrons in October 2018 and the system anchored its air defences in the May 2025 clashes with Pakistan, including a claimed ~300 km kill on a Pakistani AEW&C aircraft — the longest surface-to-air kill ever asserted. The fourth squadron arrived in June 2026 after Ukraine-war delays, the fifth is due by 2027, and a Rs 10,000 crore interceptor-replenishment order is moving through approvals.

Updated 12 Jul 2026

Hypersonic ballistic missile

Stable

Shaurya

On 3 October 2020, India conducted a user-specific Shaurya test from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, after which the government reportedly authorised operational deployment. No publicly verifiable Shaurya test or delivery was announced during 2025 or through 13 July 2026. Shaurya is a canister-launched, two-stage solid-propellant missile designed to carry conventional or nuclear payloads at hypersonic speed. Its mobility, manoeuvrability and Strategic Forces Command role make it relevant to India's deterrence posture toward both Pakistan and China, although the programme remains unusually opaque.

Updated 3 Oct 2020

Diesel-electric attack submarine

Ongoing

Shishumar-class (Type 209/1500) submarines

INS Shankul surfaced during the International Fleet Review off Visakhapatnam on 18 February 2026, providing the newest public evidence that a Shishumar-class boat remains operational. INS Shalki made a formal Colombo visit in August 2024, while INS Shankush entered a Rs 2,725 crore medium refit and life certification programme contracted in June 2023 for post-refit delivery in 2026. The four Type 209/1500 submarines entered service between 1986 and 1994, with the first pair built in West Germany and Shalki and Shankul built at Mazagon Dock in Mumbai. Shalki's 1992 commissioning established India as a submarine-building nation. These ageing but life-extended boats matter because they bridge the gap to replacement submarines while preserving Indian Navy operating and maintenance expertise.

Updated 18 Feb 2026

Stealth frigate

Stable

Shivalik-class

On 27 November 2025, INS Sahyadri reached Manila after exercising with the Philippine Navy during a long-range Indo-Pacific deployment. The same deployment included Malabar at Guam, JAIMEX with Japan, the inaugural India-Republic of Korea Navy bilateral exercise and a Malaysian port call. Project 17 comprises INS Shivalik, INS Satpura and INS Sahyadri, commissioned between April 2010 and July 2012, with roughly 5,000 nautical miles of range at 18 knots and facilities for two helicopters. For India, these mature frigates continue to sustain Eastern Fleet presence and interoperability from the Indian Ocean through the South China Sea and western Pacific while Project 17A expands the fleet.

Updated 27 Nov 2025

Diesel-electric attack submarine

Watch

Sindhughosh-class (Project 877EKM) submarines

INS Sindhukesari completed an operational turnaround at Colombo on 6 May 2026, showing that surviving Sindhughosh-class boats remain deployable. The class's lead boat, INS Sindhughosh, was decommissioned on 19 December 2025 after 40 years, while INS Sindhudhvaj retired in 2022 and INS Sindhuvir was transferred to Myanmar in 2020. The programme began with INS Sindhughosh in 1986 and grew to ten Russian-built Kilo-family submarines with the commissioning of INS Sindhushastra in 2000. Its history also includes the loss of INS Sindhurakshak in 2013 and a fatal fire aboard INS Sindhuratna in 2014. The remaining boats preserve scarce conventional underwater capacity during India's slow replacement cycle, but age and attrition make their availability a continuing watch item.

Updated 6 May 2026

Long-range stand-off precision-guided glide bomb

Ongoing

Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW)

On 17 June 2025, ANI reported that an Indian Air Force proposal for the satellite-guided SAAW was due for Ministry of Defence discussion and envisaged integration across almost the full fighter fleet, including the Su-30MKI. Current Bharat Dynamics data lists the 125 kg, 1.85 m weapon with a 90-100 km range, accuracy under 7 m with IN-GPS and under 3 m with a seeker. On 28 October and 3 November 2021, DRDO and the IAF tested satellite-navigation and electro-optical/IIR configurations at Chandan Range, hitting the intended targets; on 14 December the Defence Minister handed SAAW to the Chief of the Air Staff. Earlier rounds included a Hawk-i captive-and-release trial in January 2021, three live-warhead tests in August 2018, and three guided drops beyond 70 km in November 2017. SAAW matters because it lets Indian aircraft disable runways, taxi tracks, bunkers and radars from stand-off range with a lightweight indigenous weapon.

Updated 17 Jun 2025

Electro-optical stand-off precision-guidance-kit family

Ongoing

SPICE (Smart, Precise-Impact and Cost-Effective) 1000/2000 guidance kits

On 29 December 2025, the Defence Acquisition Council granted Acceptance of Necessity for SPICE-1000 long-range guidance kits for the Indian Air Force, the newest confirmed Indian procurement step for the family. SP's Aviation reported that the service signed a Rs 300 crore emergency order for 100 weapons in June 2019, with the first building-blaster batch reported at Gwalior by September. Sources told The Indian Express that Mirage 2000 aircraft used SPICE-2000 penetrator weapons at Balakot on 26 February 2019; a later IAF review reported five of six planned aimpoints hit, while Reuters found no visible bomb damage in post-strike satellite imagery. KRAS in Hyderabad subsequently disclosed that it had produced more than 200 SPICE-2000 weapons, 80 percent of them for Indian forces. With electro-optical scene matching, GPS-independent terminal homing and 60-125 km stand-off ranges across the two covered variants, SPICE gives India a resilient precision-strike option against defended fixed targets.

Updated 29 Dec 2025

Mobile low-level quick-reaction surface-to-air missile system

Ongoing

SPYDER Low Level Quick Reaction Missile System

On 27 February 2026, the Indian Air Force used SPYDER in coordinated ground-based air-defence engagements during Exercise Vayushakti-26 at Pokhran alongside Akash and Army assets. On 5 August 2025, DAC accorded AoN to upgrade SAKSHAM/SPYDER and integrate it with IACCS, extending the relevance of the existing fleet. The Israeli-origin LLQRM, armed with Python-5 and Derby interceptors, was officially recorded as inducted in 2017 and is intended for multiple-target response to saturation attacks. It has since participated in integrated day-and-night firing, but a SPYDER launch was also reported in the 27 February 2019 friendly-fire loss of an IAF Mi-17V5. The system matters because IACCS integration should make a fast, mobile point-defence layer more effective within India's wider sensor-and-command network.

Updated 27 Feb 2026

Multirole air-superiority fighter

High activity

Sukhoi Su-30MKI

On 25 June 2026, BrahMos Aerospace said around 40 IAF Su-30MKIs had been integrated with the air-launched BrahMos, while a May 2026 request for proposal for anti-jamming navigation antennas moved the Super-30 upgrade into another concrete subsystem phase. The Defence Acquisition Council approved overhaul of Su-30 engine aggregates on 27 March 2026, while the indigenous Super-30 programme for an initial 84 aircraft was still awaiting final Cabinet Committee on Security clearance in February 2026. India also has 12 new HAL-built aircraft under a December 2024 contract and 240 replacement AL-31FP engines under an eight-year support programme. As the IAF's largest fighter fleet and its principal BrahMos carrier, the Su-30MKI remains central to long-range operations against both Pakistani and Chinese threats.

Updated 25 Jun 2026

Missile-assisted standoff lightweight-torpedo delivery system

Testing

Supersonic Missile-Assisted Release of Torpedo

On May 1, 2024, DRDO flight-tested SMART from a ground-mobile launcher off Odisha and validated symmetric separation, ejection and velocity control. Reporting on the test said the system remained in development and would require further trials, including ship launch and an end-to-end underwater engagement. SMART combines a canisterised two-stage solid-propellant missile with precision inertial navigation, electromechanical actuation and a parachute-released advanced lightweight torpedo. Earlier official launches in December 2021 and October 2020 demonstrated full-range flight and the missile-to-torpedo release sequence. The system matters because it is intended to let the Indian Navy attack detected submarines far beyond the reach of a conventionally launched lightweight torpedo.

Updated 1 May 2024

Upgraded licence-produced main battle tank

Ongoing

T-72M1 Ajeya and Combat Improved Ajeya Main Battle Tank

On 21 April 2026, the Ministry of Defence signed approximately ₹975 crore of contracts for DRDO-developed TRAWL assemblies shared by the T-72 and T-90 fleets. On 12 February, the Defence Acquisition Council approved overhaul of T-72 vehicle platforms to extend service life, two weeks after AVNL flagged off the first two T-72s overhauled under its Vehicle Factory Jabalpur pilot. On October 27, 2025, Tata Advanced Systems said its 12.7 mm NSVT remote-controlled weapon station was installed on Indian Army T-72 tanks, confirming a fit first sighted in Sikkim that May. The Ministry of Defence signed a $248 million Russian contract on 7 March 2025 for 1,000 hp engines, kits and technology transfer to replace the fleet's existing 780 hp powerpack, after ordering 47 T-72 bridge-laying tanks for Rs 1,560.52 crore that January. The T-72 matters because these mobility, protection-support and overhaul investments keep one of the Army's largest armoured fleets usable while its eventual replacement is developed.

Updated 21 Apr 2026

Licence-produced main battle tank

Ongoing

T-90S and T-90IM Bhishma Main Battle Tank

Defence Blog reported that AVNL delivered the 1,000th India-manufactured T-90IM Bhishma to the Indian Army from Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi on 22 May 2026. One month earlier, the Ministry of Defence signed approximately ₹975 crore of contracts for DRDO-developed TRAWL assemblies shared by the T-90 and T-72 fleets. On 13 November 2025, the ministry and BDL signed a Rs 2,095.70 crore contract for INVAR laser-guided anti-tank missiles to increase T-90 firepower. The Defence Acquisition Council had also approved a move from the T-90's current 1,000 hp engine to a 1,350 hp engine on 20 March 2025 to improve high-altitude mobility. AVNL confirmed delivery of the first 10 newly produced T-90 Mk-III tanks in June 2024 under the Army's 464-tank contract, extending a programme launched by the 310-tank India-Russia contract of 15 February 2001 and a local-production line whose first ten fully licence-built tanks were reported delivered in 2009. The T-90 matters because it is a central Indian Army tank fleet whose local production, overhaul and subsystem upgrades anchor a large domestic heavy-armour supply chain.

Updated 22 May 2026

Stealth guided-missile frigate

Ongoing

Talwar-class

On 2 July 2026, INS Trikand boarded and sanitised MV Golden Arsenal after a piracy attempt approximately 300 nautical miles east-northeast of Djibouti, allowing its 21 crew members to leave the citadel and the ship to resume its voyage. On 29 June, INS Tarkash and INS Ikshak concluded a Port Victoria call after participating in Seychelles' National Day and Golden Jubilee engagements. India had signed a ₹2,182 crore VL-Shtil missile and holding-frame package for the four follow-on frigates on 3 March 2026. With INS Tushil commissioned on 9 December 2024, INS Tamal delivered and commissioned on 1 July 2025, and two more ships being built at Goa Shipyard, the family supplies operational reach and escort capacity across the western Indian Ocean while Chinese and Pakistani naval activity grows.

Updated 2 Jul 2026

Medium-altitude long-endurance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance UAV

Watch

TAPAS-BH-201 (Tactical Aerial Platform for Advanced Surveillance - Beyond Horizon)

On 6 May 2026, Raksha Anirveda reported that DRDO had begun transferring TAPAS subsystems to private companies ahead of a proposed 87-aircraft Indian MALE-UAV competition. In June 2024, Financial Express reported an Air Force plan to seek ten aircraft, split six for the IAF and four for the Navy, but no procurement contract has been confirmed. Defence officials said in January 2024 that TAPAS had been removed from mission-mode status after demonstrating about 18 hours at 28,000 feet rather than the services' 24-hour and 30,000-foot objectives, while ADE would continue improving it. The programme nevertheless passed 200 flights in June 2023 and demonstrated a 148-kilometre command handover to INS Subhadra. TAPAS matters because its airframe, autonomous-control, landing-gear and communications work can seed an Indian MALE-UAV industrial base even if the original platform is not inducted at scale.

Updated 6 May 2026

Multirole fighter

Testing

Tejas Mk2

The Tejas Mk2 is HAL and ADA's 4.5-generation medium-weight fighter — a stretched, canard-equipped evolution of the Tejas powered by the GE F414, intended to replace the IAF's Mirage 2000, MiG-29 and Jaguar fleets. The first prototype rolled out in January 2026 and is in ground trials toward a maiden flight targeted for mid-2026, but a near-tripling of GE's quoted F414 price now hangs over the programme's engine supply and timeline.

Updated 8 Jul 2026

324 mm lightweight anti-submarine torpedo

Stable

Torpedo Advanced Light (TAL) Shyena

On 8 March 2021, NSTL conducted TAL's maiden fixed-wing flight trial off Visakhapatnam, deploying an instrumented torpedo by parachute from an Indian Navy IL-38SD. A deliberate mid-2025 to 17 July 2026 sweep found no later TAL/Shyena-specific test, contract, delivery or incident; publicized ALWT milestones were excluded because ALWT is a separate successor system. Myanmar had received the first batch of TAL Shyena torpedoes on 12 July 2019 under a $37.9 million deal whose export documents were presented in March 2017, becoming the first non-Indian operator. Inducted into the Indian Navy on 3 March 2012 after a development programme publicly described in 1997 as having completed 24 technical trials, TAL is a 324 mm, electrically propelled, active/passive acoustic-homing anti-submarine torpedo. DRDO's 2025 export datasheet lists ship, rotary-wing and fixed-wing launch options, a 6 km range and a 450 m operating depth. TAL matters because it gave India a domestically designed, series-produced lightweight ASW weapon and an exportable undersea-warfare capability.

Updated 8 Mar 2021

Carrier-based multirole fighter

Development

Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF)

On 2 December 2025, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi said TEDBF was nearing final government approval, but no full-scale development sanction or flying prototype had been publicly announced by 13 July 2026. At Aero India 2025, an Aeronautical Development Agency official targeted the Critical Design Review for 2026 and government sanction for 2027. TEDBF is India's planned twin-engine carrier fighter for replacing the MiG-29K and succeeding the interim Rafale M acquisition in the longer term. Its progress matters because an indigenous carrier fighter would reduce foreign dependence while supporting Indian naval air power against expanding Chinese activity in the Indian Ocean.

Updated 31 May 2026

Ship-launched heavyweight anti-submarine torpedo

Ongoing

Varunastra Heavy Weight Torpedo (HWT)

On 20 March 2025, the Defence Acquisition Council accorded Acceptance of Necessity for additional combat Varunastra torpedoes for the Indian Navy; no later contract or delivery was identified in the official record or in a deliberate July 2025-July 2026 sweep. BDL had completed the Navy's then-current order by flagging off its last torpedo at Visakhapatnam on 29 March 2024, after the weapon's first live-high-explosive combat firing in June 2023. Developed by DRDO's Naval Science and Technological Laboratory from the mid-2000s and inducted on 29 June 2016, Varunastra is a 533.4 mm ship-launched, electrically propelled heavyweight anti-submarine torpedo produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited. BDL lists 27- and 40-knot speed modes and an 8-600 m operating-depth envelope, alongside wide-look-angle acoustic homing, acoustic counter-countermeasures and autonomous guidance. It gives Indian surface combatants a domestically developed weapon against quiet submarines in both deep and littoral waters, strengthening India's undersea-warfare self-reliance.

Updated 20 Mar 2025

Shipborne vertical-launch short-range surface-to-air missile

Trials

Vertically-Launched Short-Range Surface-to-Air Missile

On March 26, 2025, DRDO and the Indian Navy used a full combat configuration to destroy a high-speed target at very close range and low altitude, establishing the system's near-boundary low-altitude capability. That test followed back-to-back trials in September 2024 that validated updated components against low-altitude and sea-skimming profiles. The indigenous shipborne weapon has a stated strike range of up to 80 km and is intended to counter fighters, helicopters, UAVs and sea-skimming threats. Ship-based launches in 2022 demonstrated onboard integration and the indigenous radio-frequency seeker. VL-SRSAM matters because it gives Indian warships an indigenous quick-reaction layer against fast aerial threats inside the fleet's broader air-defence envelope.

Updated 26 Mar 2025

Indigenous man-portable very-short-range surface-to-air missile system

Approved

Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS)

On 3 July 2026, the Defence Acquisition Council accorded Acceptance of Necessity for Indian Army procurement of V-SHORADS with multi-spectral sensing as part of a wider approximately Rs 52,000 crore package, although no system-specific quantity or value was disclosed. This followed three user-validation flights in final deployment configuration at Chandipur on 27 February 2026, in which field operators destroyed high-speed targets across extreme engagement points. Advanced VSHORADS had also been integrated into DRDO's maiden Integrated Air Defence Weapon System test on 23 August 2025, and Army emergency-procurement contracts covering VSHORADS launchers and missiles were concluded on 24 June 2025. The Army has used imported Igla-S batches to meet its near-term requirement while the indigenous system moved through trials and procurement. VSHORADS matters because a light, high-altitude-capable terminal-defence layer can protect dispersed forces from low-flying aircraft and drones while reducing reliance on imported MANPADS.

Updated 3 Jul 2026

Guided-missile destroyer

Delivered

Visakhapatnam-class

On 8 July 2026, INS Surat, the fourth and final Project 15B destroyer, exercised with Japan's JS Takanami in the Arabian Sea, underscoring that the class is fully delivered and operationally active. All four ships—Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat—were commissioned between November 2021 and January 2025. These 7,400–7,500-tonne ships combine BrahMos strike weapons, Barak-8 area air defence and modern sensors in Indian-built hulls. For India, the class strengthens carrier escort, sea-control and long-range strike capacity across the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and wider Indo-Pacific.

Updated 8 Jul 2026

Amphibious 8x8 wheeled armoured vehicle family

Delivered

Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) 8x8

On December 24, 2025, Tata Advanced Systems announced that the first lot of Morocco-built WhAP 8x8 vehicles had been handed to the Royal Moroccan Army. On November 15, DRDO transferred its wholly indigenous lightweight add-on composite-armour technology for WhAP to an Indian company, following the September opening of Tata's 20,000-square-metre plant at Berrechid with production already under way. In April 2024, DRDO offered the same modular armour technology to more industries, noting that limited sets providing STANAG 4569 Level II and III protection with the vehicle structure had already been integrated on WhAP and accepted by users. Hindustan Times reported that the CRPF began inducting WhAP in south Kashmir in August 2023, after the Indian Army inducted its first Tata Infantry Protected Mobility Vehicles in April 2022. The programme was publicly unveiled as the DRDO-co-developed Tata Kestrel at DefExpo 2014 and displayed under the WhAP name at DefExpo 2016. The modular amphibious 8x8 matters because it gives India a domestic wheeled armoured family for troop transport, reconnaissance and weapon-carrier roles while also establishing a significant armoured-vehicle export foothold.

Updated 24 Dec 2025