India’s Defense Acquisition Council has granted “in principle” approval for nearly $11.6 billion in military equipment, with approximately 98% of the procurements planned from Indian industry. The decision authorizes the procurement process to begin, but it is not itself a completed order. The package covers the Army, Navy and Air Force, according to Defense News, which cited a Defense Ministry statement.
The decision places domestic production at the center of India’s latest military modernization package. The funds will come from the country’s $86 billion annual defense budget approved earlier this year, the report said. The announced sourcing target reflects New Delhi’s effort to reduce dependence on foreign arms suppliers while expanding the role of Indian manufacturers in military production.
For the Army, the approved equipment includes advanced light helicopters, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear reconnaissance vehicles, mine-laying vehicles, high-mobility vehicles and portable bridges. The list spans aviation, battlefield engineering and specialized reconnaissance. The announcement did not provide quantities, delivery schedules or individual program values.
The Navy’s package includes new surveillance radars to replace aging systems at naval air stations. The approvals also provide funding to design and develop marine gas turbines domestically. India builds its own warships but continues to import propulsion systems from overseas suppliers, making domestic turbine development one of the areas addressed by the new approval.
For the Air Force, the package includes a ground-based multipurpose jammer for electronic warfare. It also covers unspecified equipment intended to improve the war-fighting capability of fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters. The announcement did not identify that equipment or describe its technical performance.
The approval comes as India shifts defense-industrial policy toward greater domestic production and a larger role for private companies. After years of relying heavily on state-owned manufacturers, the government has encouraged private industry to expand into defense work. Indian private firms now manufacture radars, artillery guns, armored vehicles, missiles, ammunition, drones, small arms, aerostructures and naval systems, according to the Defense News report.
The government says roughly 65% of India’s military hardware is now produced domestically. About a decade ago, roughly two-thirds of the country’s military hardware was imported, the report said. Those figures describe the broader balance between domestically produced and imported equipment. They do not establish that all components in domestically produced systems are made in India.
Private companies accounted for nearly a quarter of approximately $20 billion worth of defense equipment produced during the last fiscal year, 2025-26. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said earlier this year that India aims to raise the private sector’s share of defense production to 50%. The 50% figure is a stated national target, while the nearly quarter-share refers to private companies’ contribution during fiscal year 2025-26.
The latest approval therefore combines an immediate procurement objective with a longer-term industrial goal. Approximately 98% of the newly approved procurements are intended to come from Indian industry, while the government’s broader production target seeks a 50% private-sector share. Neither figure means that every subsystem will be designed or manufactured inside India.
The domestic emphasis is intended to reduce reliance on foreign arms suppliers and support faster replenishment during hostilities. The Defense News report noted that some domestically produced systems, including drones, use imported components such as sensors and avionics. India also continues to rely heavily on foreign suppliers for several key military platforms, including fighter jets.
That dependence limits what the 98% sourcing figure can show by itself. The figure concerns the planned source of the newly approved procurements, while foreign components and major imported platforms can remain part of India’s wider defense supply chain. The approval also does not specify how much of the $11.6 billion package will go to private companies, state-owned manufacturers or joint production arrangements.
The council’s decision gives Indian manufacturers the leading role in a procurement round covering all three services. Its approved areas include Army mobility and reconnaissance equipment, naval surveillance and propulsion research, and Air Force electronic warfare and aircraft capability improvements. The exact contracts, suppliers, quantities and schedules remain to be determined through the procurement process.