Atmanirbhar Bharat in Defence: News & Discussion

[Rakesh]

Starting this thread to track all - and only increasing in number - the IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) products.

[Rakesh]

Atmanirbhar Indians | Ep 01 - Baba Kalyani

In a turbulent time, when sporadic conflicts, geopolitical realignments and economic warfare are changing the fate of nations. India calls for Atmanirbharta and India's Private-sector must answer. Chakra takes you to the visionaries and pathbreakers who are shaping the creation of a new ecosystem, where industry, innovation, and operational experience converge to build sovereign capability. Across platforms and domains, from submarines and tanks to armoured vehicles, drone warfare, cyberspace, and electronic warfare, meet the people shaping India’s strategic future. Meet the Atmanirbhar Indians. In Episode 1, Chakra meets Baba Kalyani, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Forge.

[Rakesh]

https://x.com/raisinadialogue/status/20 ... 20800?s=20 ---> A core misstep by the Indian Army lies in not giving domestically produced Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) variants a fair and rigorous opportunity to meet operational requirements: @KartikBommakan1

India Must Prioritise Indigenous Ground Combat Vehicles
https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/ ... t-vehicles
20 Jan 2026

[chetak]

watch video

VIDEO: hhttps://x.com/i/status/2016482777391366431

LEGENDS NEVER DIE: They Just Go Unmanned.

The iconic Cheetah & Chetak helicopters have served the Indian Army for decades. Instead of retiring to a museum, a Bengaluru Deep-Tech Startup is giving them a lethal upgrade.

They are converting these vintage warhorses into High-Altitude Heavy-Lift Drones.

Beast Mode Payload
Standard electric drones struggle to lift 10–20kg in thin air. A converted Chetak? It can carry 200kg+ of ammo, rations, and medical supplies to forward posts. It brings heavy-lift capability that small drones simply can't match.

Zero Pilot Risk
The Himalayas are unforgiving. By removing the cockpit crew and installing autonomous fly-by-wire systems, we can resupply Siachen and Galwan in bad weather without risking a single human life.

The Ultimate Asset Utilization
Costs a fraction & is ready now. It turns a liability (aging fleet) into a tactical asset (expendable logistic mules).

Powered by Fuel, Not Batteries
Batteries die fast at -30°C. These choppers run on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), already available at every airbase, ensuring massive endurance and range.

This is the perfect blend of Bengaluru Innovation and Indian Army Grit. We aren't just making new weapons; we are making our legends smarter.

[Manish_P]

^ Excellent initiative. Success here might mean we can build unmanned Chetak helis with new components? Or are the various critical parts (which we have to procure from abroad) no longer available with OEMs?

[SRajesh]

Whatever happened to Kalyani/Bharat Forge equivalent to M777??
Import Bahadurs wanted to extend the M order to exceed 500 more!!
If I remember correctly BF had two variants : on fully Titanium other an alloy (much cheaper but equally effective) and both Whirly bird transportable

[bala]

Each of the armed forces requires an advanced design org like the Indian Navy has already. This group will work with various entities like DRDO and private players e.g., L&T, Bharat Forge, Tata, etc to create products that work for them. This could be the conduit for appropriate products and also very advanced products, e.g. ramjet artillery. We need these systems to streamline things, not one of here and there. The armed force design bureau need to keep up with all the things happening in the world including things like Ukraine war and plan a path forward.

[bala]

Balu Forge Industries joins NATO supply chain for defence components



Balu Forge Industries Ltd has been formally inducted into the NATO supply chain, enabling the company to manufacture and supply artillery shell bodies and forged components to NATO member states. The move marks a significant expansion of the Indian firm’s defence sector operations. The company said the induction gives it the mandate to deliver high-specification components used in artillery and ammunition systems.

According to Balu Forge, its selection is based on its forging processes that support the production of components requiring high levels of precision.The firm uses closed-die forging and automated multi-axis CNC machines, including 7-axis and 11-axis systems, to manufacture complex geometries. It also operates heat-treatment and alloy-optimisation programmes designed to improve material performance under thermal and impact stress. The company said the development broadens its international presence and diversifies revenue streams. It added that membership in the NATO supply base creates a long-term growth platform as the alliance works to strengthen its industrial capability.

[Rakesh]

World’s smallest 155 x 52 mm Mounted Gun System
https://chakranewz.com/critical-technol ... gun-system
28 Jan 2026

[Rakesh]

Rajnath praises DRDO scientists, asks them to increase appetite for risk in research
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/def ... 652141.cms
28 Jan 2026

[Manish_P]

Rajnath praises DRDO scientists, asks them to increase appetite for risk in research
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/def ... 652141.cms
28 Jan 2026

The budget is due in the next few days. Let's see what is the allocation towards defense and specifically towards R&D

[Manish_P]

Incidentally the feature article on the homepage of ToI right now is -
(quite detailed article, have taken only some important points from it)

Budget 2026: Why defence spending is back in sharp focus—and how experts want the money spent

As Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present the Union Budget for 2026–27 on February 1, defence expenditure has once again moved to the centre of policy discussions.

Although it is always a matter of interest to the experts about how one of the world’s largest economies spends on its defence, the backdrop is very different from a few years ago. Geopolitical tensions have intensified, conflicts have become more technology-driven and India’s own security calculus has expanded beyond conventional threats to include cyber warfare, space and hybrid challenges.

At first glance, India’s defence budget has been on a steady upward trajectory.

According to the official data, total defence expenditure has increased from about Rs 2.94 lakh crore in 2015–16 to Rs 6.81 lakh crore in 2025–26 (Budget Estimates). Defence capital expenditure, which funds modernisation and new acquisitions, has also grown in absolute terms—from Rs 83,614 crore in 2015–16 to Rs 1.92 lakh crore in 2025–26 (BE).

Yet, some experts believe in viewing the defence budget against the size of the economy.

Defence expenditure as a share of nominal GDP has declined over the past decade. In 2020–21, total defence spending stood at around 2.4% of GDP. By 2024–25 (RE) and 2025–26 (BE), this ratio had slipped to about 1.9% Defence capital expenditure has remained largely flat at around 0.5–0.6% of GDP for most of this period.

In Union Budget 2025–26, the government allocated a record Rs 6.81 lakh crore to the ministry of defence, a 9.53% increase over the previous year.

Of this, Rs 1.80 lakh crore was earmarked for capital outlay for the armed forces, with Rs 1.12 lakh crore reserved for procurement from domestic industries.

The emphasis on indigenous sourcing reflects a broader strategic objective: reducing import dependence while building domestic industrial capacity.

This push towards self-reliance has already begun to show tangible results. India’s indigenous defence production touched a record Rs 1,27,434 crore in FY 2023–24, marking a 174% jump from Rs 46,429 crore in 2014–15, driven by sustained policy support under the Atmanirbharta push, as per the official data.

As per data for 2025–26, 75% of the modernisation budget was reserved for procurement from domestic sources, with a significant portion specifically allocated to private sector participation.

The private sector’s role in defence manufacturing has been steadily expanding. While Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) still account for about 77% of total defence production, the private sector’s share rose from 21% in FY 2023–24 to 23% in FY 2024–25, reflecting its growing importance in India’s defence ecosystem.

The 2025–26 Budget allocated Rs 26,816.82 crore to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), a 12.4% increase over the previous year, with a large share earmarked for capital expenditure and collaborative projects with private players.

India’s defence exports have emerged as a key pillar of the self-reliance story. Defence exports reached a record Rs 23,622 crore in FY 2024–25, registering a 12.04% increase over Rs 21,083 crore in FY 2023–24. Of this, private sector exports accounted for Rs 15,233 crore, while DPSUs contributed Rs 8,389 crore.

[Rakesh]

This is not minimizing dependence at all....

VIDEO: https://x.com/ANI/status/2018584868238844171?s=20 ---> Adani Defence & Aerospace and Leonardo announce strategic collaboration, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh says," This MoU between Adani Defence and Leonardo in creating a rotary wing fleet ecosystem country marks the coming together of two entities. This MoU signing is important because it puts on the ground the aspirational elements that were part of the announced partnership. The Government of India's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence manufacturing aims to reduce import dependence and build a globally competitive industrial capability. You can't have 100% self reliance, but take steps that minimise dependence..."

[Rakesh]

Design, Simulation, Operation: The Three Layers of Software Dependency That Leave Indian Industry Vulnerable to Foreign Chokepoints
https://swarajyamag.com/commentary/desi ... hokepoints
30 Jan 2026

[Rakesh]

This is not minimizing dependence at all....

VIDEO: https://x.com/ANI/status/2018584868238844171?s=20 ---> Adani Defence & Aerospace and Leonardo announce strategic collaboration, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh says," This MoU between Adani Defence and Leonardo in creating a rotary wing fleet ecosystem country marks the coming together of two entities. This MoU signing is important because it puts on the ground the aspirational elements that were part of the announced partnership. The Government of India's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence manufacturing aims to reduce import dependence and build a globally competitive industrial capability. You can't have 100% self reliance, but take steps that minimise dependence..."

https://x.com/Normal_2610/status/201859 ... 42613?s=20 ---> This is the JV trap everyone ignores. Adani gets to Skip Made in India on foreign designs. Elbit owns the IP. Leonardo owns the IP. The tech never moves to India. We are just doing final assembly and calling it self reliance. HAL spends 9% on R&D, where does Adani put its money. Leonardo was banned for a decade after the VVIP chopper scam. Now they are back with Adani. Italy gets market access, Adani gets a defence licence, and India gets another assembly line for AW169 and AW109. Same story as Embraer jets. We do 15 to 20% value, they keep the rest. The real winners are foreign OEMs. India has 100 helicopters per year demand for next ten years. That is a captive buyer. Adani brings land, labour, and political access. Leonardo brings the chopper and the profit margin.

You will shut up and say China did the same thing, and that they replicated the entire process playbook of Tesla, BYD, and even German CNC machine makers. But you miss one thing. 15 years ago, you were joking about “Made in China,” saying this will never work. Today, they are creating global brands and filing biotech patents. Possibly India can learn from these JVs. But if, in parallel, we do not invest with a long-term approach in R&D, then none of these approaches will be fully utilised. And after China’s experience, I do not think companies will give India the same level of freedom that they once gave China. From an investor’s point of view, I like these deals.

https://x.com/VatsRishap/status/2018585 ... 26185?s=20 ---> Atmanirbharta, as a national project, is being taken apart in broad daylight, one sphere or platform at a time. This is no exaggeration at this point.

https://x.com/FinestYew/status/2018638237011755151?s=20 ---> A strategic collaboration where we won't own the IP, develop none of the key technologies & act as a glorified assembly line for another European weapon's manufacturer. Can't wait for our desi DG-ISPR to sell this Atmanirbhar Churan to everyone.

https://x.com/cvkrishnan/status/2018610 ... 81597?s=20 ---> At least he’s half honest. “The Government of India's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence manufacturing”. It is not Atmanirbhar Bharat in Defence technologies or solutions. Just manufacturing on foreign dependent technologies.

[Rakesh]

An excellent summary on Technology Transfer....from level 0 to level 4. A must read. This tweet is dated 06 May 2024.

https://x.com/cvkrishnan/status/1787438 ... 60457?s=20 ----> Aatmanirbharta Series: The three frontiers of technology transfer.

This is first in a series of articles I plan to write on Aatmanirbharta, the various facets, processes and the technical and economic aspects involved. For years, or maybe even decades, we Indians have heard this term Transfer of Technology (ToT) as a fancy silver bullet for a lot of our technological decays. But what does technology transfer means? Does it mean a single type of a mechanism with a single type of outcome? Or are there multiple shades to it? I explore, what I believe are the three frontiers of a successful technology transfer in this article.

First, there’s a 0th frontier of Tech Transfer. Assembling as a workshare (screwdrivergiri).

This is what is most commonly passed on as transfer of technology in many international defense cases. This mostly involves assembling Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits shipped from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and its supplier to the contractors. This type is pushed through in cases where a nation is entering new into the segment and its industry has very little understanding of the product. Helps in jobs and some assembling skills but not beyond. It doesn’t add any expertise/know-how to the local companies. Useful for marketing both for business and the politician.

Let’s get down to the more realistic frontiers of technology transfer.

1. Mastering the manufacturing process

This is the second most common form of technology transfer that happens amongst fairly serious players. A system of system product is to be manufactured. The beneficiary partner gets the “know-how” manufacturing process documents, some design documents and handholding from the OEM in terms of process management, supply chain, value stream mapping and hands on training of its workers in the manufacturing process of the specific product and its subsystems. Over time, the beneficiary partner is able to manufacture the said parts without guidance and support of the OEM (know-how). One of the sub steps within this frontier is the ability to understand the manufacturing process and be able to apply it to manufacturing products that are parallel or nearby in terms of technological needs. Su-30MKI manufacturing by HAL and the upcoming C-295 manufacturing by Tata-Airbus are prime examples. The requirements needed to achieve this frontier is rather straightforward and is usually embedded in the contract documents itself as an obligation from the OEM.

2. Mastering the Technology

This is the next frontier to be conquered after mastering the manufacturing technology. This frontier can be achieved only when the beneficiary partner puts in their effort to take the ToT further from simply manufacturing to the drawings and specifications to understanding the engineering and physics aspect (know-why) of the shared platform and some of the associated subsystems. These are not written down in a design doc. There are no textbooks. But there are wealth of test data that provide the underlying engineering and multi-physics insights. These are seldom shared by the OEMs. The beneficiary team has to figure out, breaking their head, bench marking, testing specimens, reverse engineering, and absorbing the tech and analyzing from their own intrinsic fundamental knowledge. This is almost never part of a ToT deal. It requires the leadership, attitude, focus and perseverance of the team receiving the ToT to go beyond understanding manufacturing to specifications, to understanding the design process and the engineering physics. This helps in developing newer iterations with minor or major changes to the form, features and the performance of the product. Eg, BrahMos, SAAW, Vikas engine.

3. Mastering the Paradigm

I wouldn’t say this as the final frontier but this kind of is what one can achieve maximum possibly in a Transfer of Technology (ToT) scenario. In this realm, we go beyond mastering the specific product and the neighboring family of applications but get on with developing the next generation of the product family on their own reaching the state of the art and beyond for the family of technologies that exists in the known realm. This requires necessarily the vision of the govt (seldom do free markets enter this realm), copious funding and creating the talent and research base to be able to tap into and develop an ecosystem and master the paradigm. Eg, India’s missile program.

This is considered as the logical end of a Technology Transfer process for a large complex platform. The most simplistic understanding assumes that when we get a ToT of a complex technology, we reach the third frontier automatically. But in most cases, we stop at frontier-1 itself. Each step here requires not just what the technology benefactor gives, but even more as to how far the beneficiary entity goes in absorbing, assimilating and fostering the know-how or know-why got.

[ashthor]

Beyond Screwdrivergiri: Why The Defence Secretary Should Heed The Economic Survey
https://swarajyamag.com/defence/beyond- ... mic-survey
04 Feb 2026

The Adani-Leonardo helicopter deal risks repeating screwdrivergiri unless joint ventures are tied to serious R&D investment and technology transfer, as the Economic Survey demands for true strategic self-reliance.

[Khalsa]

An excellent summary on Technology Transfer....from level 0 to level 4. A must read. This tweet is dated 06 May 2024.

Thank you Admiral, as always.

[Rakesh]

Atmanirbhar Indians | Ep 02 - Nikunj Parashar, Sagar Defence Engineering

India’s naval power is entering a new era. From autonomous weaponised sea drones to unmanned surface vessels that sail thousands of miles without a crew, this episode of Atmanirbhar Indians takes you inside Sagar Defence Engineering, a Pune-based startup thats transforming Indian maritime warfare. Founder-CEO Captain Nikunj Parashar shares how indigenous drones are already flying from Indian warships, how the Navy trusted a startup with mission-critical systems, and how the historic Sagar Mala Parikrama proved India can build world-class autonomous vessels.