India is all set to take a big stride in exports of arms and equipment with the defence ministry in the process of tying up with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United
Updated on: Dec 21, 2017, 23:41:19 IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By Shishir Gupta, New Delhi
India is all set to take a big stride in exports of arms and equipment with the defence ministry in the process of tying up with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Myanmar and Armenia for supply of radars, helicopters and missiles, and tank upgradation by 2018.
Surface to air missile AKASH with indigenous seeker, successfully test fired from the Launch Complex-III at ITR Chandipur, Odisha. (PTI File Photo)
{{^htLoading}} {{/htLoading}}
South Block sources confirmed deepening of military ties with these countries with high-level delegations interacting with defence ministry and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) units in Bengaluru this month.
For the first time, Saudi Arabia is sending 10 of its nationals for training to become officers at the National Defence Academy (NDA) next year.
The proposed tie-ups assume significance as India is the largest importer of arms in the world but figures nowhere in the list of global arms exporters.
Government sources confirmed that two joint committee meetings have already taken place with Riyadh as the latter is interested in a joint venture to manufacture weapons and equipment in Saudi Arabia.
It is understood that the UAE has also shown interest in purchasing DRDO-developed Astra 70-kilometer range air- to-air missile for its Mirage fighters. The beyond visual range missile has been successfully tested by the Indian Air Force on its Su-30 MKI fighter jet and will be soon integrated for test firing on its Mirage 2000 jets.
{{^htLoading}} {{/htLoading}}
{{^usCountry}}
While Myanmar wants India to upgrade its T-72 main battle tanks, which the former had purchased from Ukraine, Jordan is interested in buying the Kamov 226 T multi-utility helicopter to be built under India-Russia collaboration. Jordan is also looking at the possibility of buying other hardware manufactured by the DRDO.
{{/usCountry}}
{{#usCountry}}
While Myanmar wants India to upgrade its T-72 main battle tanks, which the former had purchased from Ukraine, Jordan is interested in buying the Kamov 226 T multi-utility helicopter to be built under India-Russia collaboration. Jordan is also looking at the possibility of buying other hardware manufactured by the DRDO.
{{/usCountry}}
On its part, Armenia is interested in purchasing DRDO- manufactured radars for battle-field theatre and long-distance artillery ammunition from India.
Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.
Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.
Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.
