India has cleared about ₹1.10 trillion, or $11.6 billion, in planned military purchases for its Army, Navy and Air Force, with the government saying almost all of the equipment will come from Indian suppliers.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), India’s top military procurement body, approved the proposals on Monday, 7 September, at a meeting chaired by defense minister Rajnath Singh. About 98% of the planned purchases will be sourced from Indian industry, according to the ministry of defense.

The DAC granted what the government calls an Acceptance of Necessity, essentially permission for the armed forces to proceed with the purchasing process. The individual programs must still go through later stages before contracts are signed, and payments can be spread over several years.

The package covers a broad range of equipment. The Army is seeking helicopters, vehicles that can operate in difficult terrain, systems for detecting hazardous contamination, equipment for laying and clearing minefields, and portable bridges. The Navy plans to acquire new surveillance radars and develop warship engines in India. The Air Force will receive electronic warfare equipment alongside other systems for aircraft and helicopters.

Army gets helicopters, bridge systems

The largest variety of equipment is intended for the Indian Army. Among the proposals are vehicles designed to detect chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear contamination. Such vehicles allow troops to identify dangerous areas and mark them so other military units can avoid or respond to them.

The Army also plans to acquire high-mobility vehicles that can carry personnel and equipment across difficult terrain, as well as vehicles that can rapidly lay minefields.

Advanced light helicopters are included for both the Army and Air Force. The ministry did not disclose how many helicopters would be purchased, their exact version or the estimated cost of the individual order.

India already operates a large fleet of domestically produced Advanced Light Helicopters, a family of aircraft made by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Monday’s announcement, however, did not identify the specific helicopter model covered by the new approval.

The Army will also receive trawl tanks, which are designed to help clear paths through minefields, and the Sarvatra mobile bridge system. Sarvatra allows troops, tanks and other heavy vehicles to cross rivers, trenches and other obstacles where a permanent bridge is unavailable. India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation, or DRDO, says the system can create crossings of up to 75 meters and can be assembled in sections.

Navy seeks new radars

For the Navy, the council approved new Arudhra surveillance radars and a program to design and build marine gas turbines in India. The Arudhra radars will replace older air-surveillance systems at naval air stations. Their job is essentially to detect and track aircraft and other objects in the sky around naval facilities.

The gas-turbine program could have broader importance for India’s effort to reduce its dependence on foreign military technology. Marine gas turbines are large engines used to propel many modern warships. India now designs and builds a growing share of its naval fleet domestically, but important components, including some propulsion systems, have continued to come from overseas suppliers.

The defense ministry said developing the new turbines domestically is intended to reduce that dependence. The approval covers both development of the technology and eventual procurement. That makes the program potentially more significant than its relatively obscure name suggests. Building a warship domestically does not amount to full technological independence if critical engines, sensors or weapons still have to be imported.

Air Force gets systems to disrupt enemy radar

The government disclosed fewer details about the Air Force portion of the package. It said several proposals were approved to improve the capabilities of fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters, but did not identify the aircraft involved, the equipment to be purchased or the value of the individual programs.

One system that was identified is a ground-based electronic jammer. The equipment is designed to interfere with enemy radar, making it harder for an opponent to detect, track or target Indian forces. Electronic warfare has become increasingly important as modern militaries rely heavily on radar, communications and other electronic sensors.

The council also approved a new smart-card system for the armed forces. The cards will eventually replace paper identity cards, passes and permits with electronic cards using radio-frequency identification technology. It is a less dramatic purchase than helicopters or radar jammers, but forms part of a wider attempt to modernize security at military facilities.

The decision to source about 98% of the newly approved purchases from Indian industry is part of a much broader shift in India’s defense policy. New Delhi has spent years trying to reduce its dependence on imported military equipment while increasing orders for Indian state-owned companies and private manufacturers.

For the current fiscal 2027, India has set aside ₹1.85 trillion, or about $19.6 billion at Monday’s exchange rate, specifically for buying new military equipment. About 75% of that amount has been reserved for purchases from domestic companies.

The ₹1.10 trillion value of Monday’s approvals is therefore substantial compared with India’s annual equipment budget, but it should not be read as spending that will occur entirely this year. The distinction between approving a purchase and signing a contract is particularly important in Indian defense procurement, where large programs can take years to move from an initial green light to an order.

During fiscal 2026, the DAC approved 55 proposals with a combined estimated value of ₹6.73 trillion. Actual defense procurement contracts signed during that year were worth ₹2.28 trillion.

The two figures measure different things. The first represents projects allowed to enter or advance through the procurement process. The second represents contracts that had reached the point where the government had formally agreed to buy equipment.

India’s defense industry is getting bigger

The domestic industry expected to supply much of this equipment has expanded rapidly. India produced a record ₹1.78 trillion, or about $18.8 billion, worth of defense equipment in fiscal 2026, up 15.6% from the previous year.

State-owned defense companies and other public-sector manufacturers accounted for about 76% of production, while private companies contributed 24%. Defense exports reached a record ₹384.24 billion, or about $4.1 billion.

The government says roughly 65% of India’s defense equipment is now produced domestically. It says that marks a major reversal from a period when the country relied on imports for about two-thirds of its military equipment.

India has long ranked among the world’s major military spenders and arms importers, but successive governments have struggled to turn the size of that market into an equally large domestic manufacturing industry.

The current government has increasingly directed orders toward Indian companies, imposed domestic-content requirements and encouraged foreign manufacturers to produce more equipment in India.

The 2026-27 defense budget totals ₹7.85 trillion, or about $83 billion, with more than ₹2.19 trillion allocated for longer-term investment in equipment and military infrastructure. Within that, ₹1.85 trillion is specifically earmarked for new equipment purchases.

The government increased the equipment budget by about 24% from the previous year’s original allocation. It has also said military requirements following Operation Sindoor influenced higher spending.