India Promoting Lower-Cost Military Exports

By GERRY DOYLE

JUNE 23, 2014 

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Kuni Takahashi for The New York TimesModels of cruise missiles being displayed during during a defense exposition earlier this year in New Delhi, India.

HONG KONG — India’s ambitions to increase its domestic military industry may have grown a little more expansive.

On Sunday, the head of the country’s Defense Research and Development Organization told the Press Trust of India news agency that a ‘‘list of equipment,’’ including long-range missiles and the domestically developed Tejas light fighter, could be sold as exports in direct competition with countries like China.

Avinash Chander, the agency’s chief, argued that India’s advantage would be in production cost. ‘‘Many times Indian weapons are a lot cheaper,’’ he told the news agency. ‘‘There are various other systems, like if you take strategic missiles, the long-range missiles that China sells to Saudi Arabia and the cost at which we produce, it would be one-third or one-fourth.’’

The defense agency confirmed the comments by phone on Monday.

Whether there would be a market for India’s weaponry is unclear. A heavy importer of weapons, the country has been struggling for years to manufacture arms reliable enough for its military to use, the Times’s Gardiner Harris reported in March.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Tejas jet, in particular, took more than three decades to develop and its capabilities already lag behind those of its contemporaries, analysts say. The project suffered from poor project oversight, a lack of access to key systems and avionics technology because of embargoes, unrealistic deadlines and changing requirements, Ben Moores, a senior analyst with IHS Jane’s, said Monday.

It is estimated to cost $31 million per unit, compared with more than $30 million for an American-built F-16 or $29 million for a Russian MIG-29.

‘‘It is not a particularly cost-effective platform relative to the capabilities on offer by similar products already in the market space,’’ Mr. Moores said. ‘‘Furthermore, the market it is trying to enter is very mature, has low growth, highly competitive and often political in a way that does not benefit India.’’

The F-16 and MIG-29 are both tested designs that can work with a wide variety of weapons, he said.

But potential customers might find the Tejas attractive because of its relatively simple design, Mr. Moores added.

China has two entries in that market, the JF-17, a joint effort of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation in China, and the J-10 (whose only export customer is Pakistan). The J-10 and Tejas are ‘‘on paper very similar,’’ Mr. Moores said.

If India can compete on quality as well as cost, the payoff could be huge. Militaries across Asia are looking to build their capabilities in the face of Chinese ascendance — spending in the region is up nearly 12 percent, compared with four years ago, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. But given the industry’s current position, it could be an uphill battle.

‘‘You are starting to see some Indian exports, but these have been limited,’’ Mr. Moores said. ‘‘I think that the private sector is ready to step into global weapons export market, but there will need to be further reform and liberalization of the Indian procurement sector if that is going to happen in a significant manner.’’