Indian Defence Systems is Going Global after Operation Sindoor: DRDO Chief

By R Anil Kumar

Bengaluru. India’s defence sector is entering a new phase of global outreach following the success of Operation Sindoor. The mission, which highlighted India’s operational and technological readiness, has transformed international perceptions of its domestic defence capabilities.

Partner nations are now observing India not merely as a regional power, but as a credible technology provider capable of developing and delivering complete military systems. This shift marks a crucial step in India’s ambition to establish itself as a global defence manufacturing and export hub.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) plays a central role in this transformation. Over the past decade, DRDO has evolved from a purely research-driven agency into a catalyst for industrial collaboration and export-oriented innovation. Its focus now lies in designing, developing, and prototyping advanced systems which are subsequently manufactured at scale by Indian companies.

As the DRDO chief recently noted, the agency’s work is now directly influencing how India’s strategic and tactical technologies are being adopted by global partners.

Systems such as the Akash and Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) complexes have become symbols of India’s engineering maturity.

They combine indigenous radar, propulsion, guidance, and command systems—delivering performance comparable to foreign early-generation solutions at a lower cost and faster production rate. Several countries in South-East Asia, Africa, and Latin America have shown interest in these systems, drawn by their reliability and the ease of deployment in varied operational conditions.

The DRDO-developed Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) system represents another major technological leap. Mounted on an Embraer platform, it provides advanced situational awareness and network-centric warfare capability to friendly nations seeking to strengthen their air defence networks.

Its successful field operations have not only bolstered the Indian Air Force’s capabilities but also demonstrated the maturity of India’s indigenous avionics suite to international observers.

A new generation of defence systems is being built around technologies such as artificial intelligence, directed energy weapons, and advanced electronic warfare. DRDO’s D4 Anti-Drone System (DRDO-AADS) is a prime example of this innovation.

Developed in collaboration with Indian private industry, the D4 suite can detect, jam, and neutralise rogue unmanned aerial threats using multiple layers of sensors and kinetic and non-kinetic countermeasures. Its deployment in sensitive zones during Operation Sindoor drew global attention, with several South-East Asian nations expressing interest in acquiring similar anti-drone defences.

India’s success story would be incomplete without the mention of the BrahMos cruise missile, jointly developed by DRDO and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia. BrahMos remains one of the fastest and most versatile precision-strike weapons in the world and serves as India’s flagship export product.

The recent sale of BrahMos to the Philippines has opened the door to further negotiations with Vietnam, Indonesia, and other Indo-Pacific nations, underlining India’s emergence as a major arms supplier to friendly democracies.

The DRDO chief has also highlighted the importance of industry partnerships in achieving global impact. India’s defence production ecosystem now includes a vibrant mix of public sector units and private firms — from large integrators like Bharat Electronics and Larsen & Toubro to smaller, highly specialised suppliers producing sensors, composites, or propulsion components.

This collaborative manufacturing model allows Indian weapon systems to be built faster, customised for export customers, and maintained over decades.

Operation Sindoor played a key role in demonstrating the operational success of these indigenous systems under real-world conditions. The mission’s precision air strikes, electronic warfare support, and counter-UAV operations validated technologies that had been developed and refined over years. The international attention that followed has turned the operation into a showcase of Indian defence manufacturing maturity, translating into new export enquiries and strategic collaborations.

India has set itself an ambitious target of achieving defence exports worth 50,000 crore rupees by 2029. While this goal may appear bold, the rapid expansion of defence industrial capacity, combined with a growing reputation for reliability, makes it attainable.

Government initiatives such as the Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) and increased investment in defence corridors are reinforcing this momentum.

Ultimately, DRDO’s evolving role symbolises a broader national shift—from self-reliance to global relevance. With advanced systems like Akash, MRSAM, AEW&C, D4, and BrahMos now entering the international market, India is no longer just defending its borders but contributing directly to shaping the future of global defence technologies.