India Greenlights USD25B Arms Agreement

(MENAFN) India's government on Friday greenlit a sweeping $25 billion defense procurement package — one of the largest single-day military acquisition approvals in the country's history — encompassing additional Russian-made air defense systems, next-generation aircraft, and a broad arsenal of battlefield hardware as New Delhi accelerates an ambitious modernization of its armed forces.

The clearances were granted by the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC), the apex decision-making authority on military purchases within the Defense Ministry, convened under the chairmanship of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.

An official ministry statement confirmed that the approvals include five additional S-400 Triumph surface-to-air missile batteries — supplementing the five units contracted with Russia in 2017, three of which have already been delivered, with the remaining two slated to arrive later this year. The S-400 drew widespread praise from Indian military commanders following its operational deployment during the 2025 standoff with Pakistan.

Beyond the flagship air defense acquisition, the package covers transport aircraft intended to replace India's aging fleet of Soviet-era An-32 and Il-76 planes, life-extension upgrades for Su-30 fighter jets in service with the air force, a range of artillery systems, armor-piercing tank munitions, advanced gun platforms, aerial surveillance systems for the army, and hovercraft for the coastguard.

In a separate but concurrent development, the Defense Ministry inked a 4.45-billion-rupee ($47 million) contract with Russia's state military exporter Rosoboronexport for the procurement of Tunguska air defense missile systems earmarked for ground forces.

The scale of Friday's approvals is emblematic of a broader procurement surge. Across the current fiscal year ending March 31, India has cleared 55 acquisition proposals totaling 6.73 trillion rupees ($71 billion) and finalized contracts on 503 separate proposals worth an additional 2.28 trillion rupees — with the ministry confirming that both figures represent all-time records for a single financial year.

The spending trajectory reflects India's standing as the world's fifth-largest military spender and its position as the globe's second-largest arms importer after Ukraine, according to the most recent data published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Historically reliant on Soviet and Russian hardware — which still accounts for over 60% of its total military inventory — India has been methodically diversifying its supplier base in recent years, deepening defense ties with France, the United States, Israel, and Germany, while simultaneously expanding the footprint of indigenously designed and manufactured systems as part of a national self-reliance push.

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