Ajai Shukla
On February 10, India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a five-day defense systems exhibition in the country’s information technology capital, Bengaluru. Aero India 2025, as this ongoing biennial exhibition is called, is the 15th edition of what New Delhi touts as Asia’s biggest aerospace and defense exhibition. Participating this year are 900 exhibitors from 90 countries, including 100 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Defense ministers from over 30 countries are attending, either virtually or in person.
India, the world’s biggest spender in the international arms bazaar, is easily able to draw in the world’s biggest arms sellers. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)’s most recent report, India was the world’s top arms importer over the five-year period 2019-23, with imports rising by 4.7 percent compared to the 2014-18 period.
While the United States remains India’s premier arms supplier, France has slipped smoothly into second place. The manufacture in India of six Scorpene submarines, the purchase of 36 Rafale fighters, and the upgrade of 50 Mirage 2000 fighters have resulted in France supplanting Russia as India’s second-biggest weapons supplier. Even so, Moscow retains its stranglehold over large sections of India’s weapons imports, including T-90S tanks and armored personnel carriers, S-400 integrated air defense systems, Krivak III-class frigates, and Akula-class nuclear-powered submarines.
Now every major aerospace OEM is positioning itself to win the biggest prize in the international combat aircraft market: the Indian Air Force (IAF)’s ongoing acquisition of 114 medium fighters.
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