Indonesia’s agreement to become the first foreign customer for India’s Astra Mk-1 beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile marks more than just another defence export order.
This development means India now exports indigenous military platforms and weapon systems spanning all three principal combat domains: land, maritime and air.
This comes at a time when the Ministry of Defence has reported India’s highest-ever annual defence exports. According to official figures, defence exports reached Rs 38,424 crore during FY 2025-26, registering a 62.66% increase over the previous financial year. The number is a dramatic departure from the Rs 686 crore recorded in FY 2013-14. Measured over the 12-year period, annual exports have grown approximately 56-fold, reflecting not merely a rise in sales but a structural change in the nature of India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem.
The cumulative figures tell an equally compelling story. During the decade from FY 2004-05 to FY 2013-14, India’s total defence exports amounted to Rs 4,312 crore. The export basket during that period was dominated by engineering goods, components, protective equipment, patrol platforms, spares and limited military systems.
By contrast, cumulative exports between FY 2014-15 and FY 2025-26 have reached Rs 150,365 crore.
THE LAND DOMAIN
On land, exports include systems such as Akash, Pinaka and Swathi. At sea, the portfolio ranges from BrahMos, the Shyena Advanced Lightweight Torpedo and the Barracuda offshore patrol vessel. In the air domain, Astra joins the HAL Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter, giving India an indigenous export portfolio spanning all three domains.
The land domain has witnessed the most visible expansion over the past few years, with Armenia emerging as India’s principal customer for indigenous battlefield systems.
The South Caucasus nation became the first foreign customer for the Akash Air Defence System, with deliveries commencing in 2024 under a major defence contract. The Akash system, developed to provide short-range air defence against aircraft, helicopters, drones and cruise missiles, marked one of India’s first exports of a complete indigenous air defence weapon system rather than individual components.
Armenia has also contracted the Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher system, significantly expanding India’s footprint in long-range artillery exports. Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Pinaka has evolved into one of India’s principal indigenous rocket artillery platforms and has attracted international attention following its operational deployment by the Indian Army.
Alongside Akash and Pinaka, Armenia has inducted the Swathi Weapon Locating Radar, a mobile phased-array radar capable of locating hostile artillery, mortar and rocket fire. Together, these acquisitions make Armenia the only country currently operating multiple major indigenous Indian land combat systems, underlining the growing strategic depth of the bilateral defence relationship.
THE MARITIME DOMAIN
India’s maritime export story has been shaped primarily by the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile programme.
The US$375 million government-to-government agreement signed with the Philippines marked the first export of the BrahMos missile and remains one of the most significant defence export contracts concluded by India. Designed for coastal defence and anti-ship operations, the missile has substantially enhanced India’s credibility as a supplier of advanced strategic systems.
The BrahMos export programme has continued to expand following the landmark sale to the Philippines. Vietnam became the second foreign customer when India officially signed a deal to supply the missile system in May 2026.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Indonesia, Jakarta became the third foreign customer by concluding an agreement to procure the BrahMos system.
Together, these developments indicate growing regional interest in Indian missile technology across the Indo-Pacific, particularly among countries seeking to strengthen coastal defence capabilities.
India’s naval export portfolio extends beyond cruise missiles.
Myanmar became the first foreign recipient of the indigenous Shyena Advanced Lightweight Torpedo, with the first batch delivered in 2019 under a contract signed in 2017, marking India’s entry into the export of indigenous underwater weapons.
Earlier, Mauritius received the custom-built offshore patrol vessel Barracuda in 2015, representing India’s first major export of an indigenously built naval platform. The vessel continues to serve as an important example of India’s maritime security cooperation with Indian Ocean partners.
THE AIR DOMAIN
The latest milestone is in the air domain. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Indonesia, Jakarta agreed to acquire the Astra Mk-1 beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, becoming the first foreign customer for the indigenous missile. Developed by DRDO for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy, Astra has a strike range exceeding 110 kilometres and is designed to engage enemy aircraft beyond visual range. The Indonesian order marks India’s entry into a limited group of countries exporting domestically developed air-to-air missile systems.
The Astra order also reflects the growing international visibility of Indian missile technology.
Defence analysts say Astra’s operational deployment during Operation Sindoor increased international visibility of the missile, although Indonesia’s acquisition formed part of the broader expansion in defence cooperation announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.
Before Astra entered the export market, India had already established a presence in military aviation exports through the HAL Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter. Ecuador became the first foreign customer in 2008, making Dhruv India’s first major helicopter export.
Although the programme subsequently faced operational and contractual challenges, it nevertheless marked India’s first attempt to export a domestically developed aviation platform, laying an early foundation for subsequent aerospace exports.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPORT
The evolution of India’s defence exports has also been accompanied by a significant change in the industrial structure supporting them. According to the Ministry of Defence, Defence Public Sector Undertakings accounted for Rs 21,071 crore, or 54.84%, of total exports during FY 2025-26. The remaining Rs 17,353 crore, representing 45.16%, came from private industry.
This near-even distribution illustrates a marked departure from the earlier state-dominated model.
While Defence Public Sector Undertakings continue to lead exports of integrated platforms, missiles and government-to-government contracts, private companies have expanded rapidly in the manufacture of precision subsystems, avionics, electronic warfare equipment, specialised defence electronics, ammunition, launch mechanisms, sensors and critical components integrated into larger weapon systems. The result has been the emergence of a broader industrial base capable of supporting both complete platforms and global defence supply chains.
THE SIGNIFICANCE
The geographical spread of India’s defence exports is equally noteworthy.
From Mauritius in the western Indian Ocean to Myanmar in Southeast Asia, from Armenia in the South Caucasus to the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia in the Indo-Pacific, Indian defence systems are increasingly finding acceptance across diverse strategic theatres.
For policymakers, the significance of this trend extends beyond export revenue. Defence exports contribute to larger production runs, support indigenous research and development, strengthen manufacturing capacity and reduce unit costs for the Indian armed forces. They also deepen long-term strategic relationships, as military platforms typically require decades of maintenance support, upgrades, training and logistics cooperation.
The trajectory of India’s defence exports therefore reflects more than an increase in annual sales figures. It marks the gradual emergence of a defence industrial ecosystem capable of designing, producing and exporting sophisticated military technologies across the full spectrum of warfare. What was once an export basket centred on components, engineering goods and support equipment now includes artillery systems, air defence networks, cruise missiles, radars, torpedoes, aviation platforms and beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles.
