India becomes Europe’s third-largest arms exporter amid ‘rearm Europe’ push: Defence secretary
India’s exports cover a broad range of equipment, from heavy artillery and ammunition to helmets, bulletproof jackets and small arms, Singh said.
Published: Oct 23, 2026, 07:57 PM IST
| Updated: Oct 23, 2026, 08:03 PM IST
India’s exports cover a broad range of equipment, from heavy artillery and ammunition to helmets, bulletproof jackets and small arms, Singh said.
India has emerged as the third-largest exporter of arms to Europe, driven by growing demand under the “Rearm Europe” initiative and an expanding domestic defence manufacturing base, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Friday.
India’s defence exports have reached a record Rs 38,424 crore, equivalent to around 3.6 billion euros, Singh told journalists, citing a Bloomberg report published a day earlier that highlighted the country’s rise in arms exports to Europe over the past year.
“Our exports have reached an all-time high of Rs 38,424 crore, which is about 3.6 billion euros, and I was reading a Bloomberg report yesterday, which said that suddenly, over the last year, India became the third-largest exporter of arms to Europe, mainly because of the Rearm Europe initiative,” he said.
He added that demand for standard ammunition, artillery shells and both large- and small-calibre ammunition had risen significantly in Europe.
Defence manufacturing base expands
Singh said India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem had grown substantially over the past decade. Alongside 16 large public sector companies, the sector now includes nearly 840 large and medium-sized private firms and around 17,000 small enterprises, including start-ups.
The expansion is also reflected in domestic sales, which have reached nearly 17 billion euros, he said.
India now exports defence equipment to more than 80 countries. The government also seeks to ensure that 75 per cent of its annual defence capital expenditure, estimated at $20 billion to $25 billion, is spent domestically.
Priority is given to IDDM products, those that are Indian-designed, developed and manufactured, as part of efforts to strengthen technological sovereignty.
India’s exports cover a broad range of equipment, from heavy artillery and ammunition to helmets, bulletproof jackets and small arms, Singh said.
India seeks greater role in European procurement
Singh said India was looking to expand its participation in European defence procurement, including through joint ventures established in Europe. European partners, in turn, could set up joint ventures in India to gain access to its defence market.
“India intends to increasingly take part in Europe’s arms procurement programme. Not directly, but by setting up joint ventures in Europe. And of course, European Partners to set up joint ventures in India to access our defence market, and for us to set up joint ventures in Europe to access the European government programmes,” he said.
European countries can also participate in India’s defence procurement programmes, but they must comply with the government’s “Make in India” conditions, he added.
Singh said the aim was to build closer links between the Indian and European defence industries, allowing manufacturers on both sides to integrate their supply chains.
“I hope that this partnership agreement can lay the base for a situation where the supply chains between European and Indian defence manufacturers become increasingly integrated, and that is what we sort of intend to work on,” he said.
India diversifies its defence suppliers
Singh said India had historically relied on Russia as its largest defence supplier, but that dependence had declined as the country diversified its sources of military equipment.
India still operates a significant amount of Russian-origin equipment, he said, while pointing to its strong bilateral defence ties with France and several other European countries.
France accounts for around 15 per cent of India’s defence imports, with Israel holding a similar share, Singh said.
He also highlighted India’s strategic alignment with Greece and Cyprus, which he described as recent partners and an important gateway for cooperation.
“I’ve just been on a visit to Greece and Cyprus, which are countries with whom we see a lot of strategic alignment. They are also recent partners; this is also our gateway,” he said.
Singh said buyers, particularly in South-east Asia, were involved in negotiations and contracts covering a wide range of defence products. These include different types of components, small arms and artillery gun systems.
He said India’s diversified industrial base would help the country scale up production to meet international procurement requirements as demand grows.
(with IANS inputs)
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