India's defence manufacturing ambitions have expanded rapidly over the past decade. Indigenous platforms such as the Tejas fighter jet, INS Vikrant aircraft carrier and several missile, helicopter and armoured vehicle programmes reflect the country's growing ability to design and manufacture complex defence systems.
But beneath these achievements lies a major challenge: India can increasingly build the platform, yet several critical technologies inside those platforms still depend on foreign suppliers.
From fighter jet engines and naval gas turbines to advanced sensors, electronic warfare systems and specialised materials, foreign dependence continues to affect India's push towards Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence.
India's Defence Production and Exports Hit Record Levels
India's defence production reached a record Rs 1.78 lakh crore in 2025-26, while defence exports climbed to Rs 38,424 crore.
The government has said that nearly 65% of defence equipment is now produced within India, marking a major shift from the country's earlier dependence on imports.
However, international data presents a more complex picture.
According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) data, India accounted for 8.2% of global imports of major arms between 2021 and 2025, making it one of the world's largest arms importers.
While India's defence imports have declined, the country continues to rely on foreign suppliers for several high-value and strategically important technologies.
The Biggest Gap Is in Engines and Propulsion
An analysis of India's six Positive Indigenisation Lists, covering 5,417 defence items, highlights where the biggest technology gaps remain.
Out of the total items, around 2,500 have already been indigenised, while 2,917 are still scheduled for domestic development.
The weakest areas include:
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Propulsion, engines and transmission: Only 6% indigenised
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Weapons and ammunition: 8% indigenised
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Radar, communications, electronic warfare and navigation: 14% indigenised
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Sensors and optronics: 25% indigenised
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Electronics, avionics and control systems: 33% indigenised
India has made significantly greater progress in mechanical and structural hardware, where around 69% of listed items have already been indigenised.
The numbers suggest that India has become increasingly capable of manufacturing the physical structure of advanced defence platforms. The more difficult challenge lies in developing the technologies that power, guide, detect and operate them.
Tejas Shows India's Engine Dependency Problem
The Tejas fighter jet is one of India's most prominent indigenous defence programmes. However, its dependence on the American-made GE F404 engine highlights the limitations of domestic defence manufacturing.
India spent decades developing the Kaveri engine programme but was unable to produce an engine capable of meeting the operational requirements of a modern fighter aircraft.
The first 83 Tejas Mk1A aircraft use GE Aerospace F404 engines. Delays in engine supplies have also affected aircraft deliveries.
HAL later signed an agreement with GE for 113 additional F404 engines for the next batch of 97 Tejas Mk1A aircraft, with deliveries planned between 2027 and 2032.
While the Tejas programme has created domestic capabilities in aircraft design, manufacturing and supply chains, the engine remains a critical foreign dependency.
INS Vikrant Also Relies on Foreign Critical Systems
India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, has an indigenous content level of around 76%, according to government figures.
However, several critical systems onboard have foreign origins.
These include:
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GE LM2500 gas turbines from the United States
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Israeli-origin radar technology
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Italian long-range radar systems
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British aircraft lifts
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Swedish hangar-door systems
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Foreign-origin aviation recovery systems
This demonstrates a key issue in measuring defence self-reliance.
A platform can be largely manufactured in India while still depending on foreign suppliers for some of its most critical technologies.
Foreign Dependence Extends Across India's Defence Platforms
The problem is not limited to Tejas or INS Vikrant.
Several Indian defence platforms continue to use foreign engines, turbines and propulsion systems.
The HTT-40 trainer aircraft uses a Honeywell engine, while the HJT-36 Yashas is powered by a Russian-origin AL-55I engine.
The Dhruv, Rudra and LCH Prachand helicopter platforms use the Shakti engine developed in collaboration with France's Safran.
Indian naval warships also rely on foreign propulsion technologies, including GE LM2500 turbines and Ukrainian-origin Zorya gas turbines.
The Arjun Mk1A tank uses a German MTU engine and RENK transmission system.
The recurring challenge is clear: India has developed the ability to build increasingly complex defence platforms, but engines, turbines, powerpacks, advanced sensors and other critical technologies remain difficult to replace.
Navy Faces a Major Indigenisation Challenge
The data also shows significant differences across India's armed forces.
The Air Force-linked group has made comparatively stronger progress, with 1,837 out of 2,447 listed items already indigenised.
The Navy, however, has the largest proportion of items still awaiting indigenisation, with 1,162 out of 1,211 entries remaining under development or scheduled for domestic production.
The figures underline the technological complexity of naval systems, which require specialised propulsion, radar, sonar, weapons and electronic technologies.
India Is Reducing Dependence on Russia
India's defence supplier base has also changed significantly.
Russia's share of India's major arms imports has declined from around 70% during 2011-15 to approximately 40% during 2021-25.
During the same period, France and Israel have increased their presence in India's defence procurement ecosystem.
The diversification has reduced India's dependence on a single supplier, but it has not eliminated foreign dependence.
Instead, India now sources critical technologies from multiple countries.
Defence R&D Remains a Major Challenge
India's defence research and development expenditure has increased in absolute terms, rising from around Rs 13,716 crore in 2014-15 to approximately Rs 29,100 crore in the 2026-27 budget.
However, defence R&D spending has declined as a share of the overall defence budget.
Research organisations have repeatedly identified advanced propulsion, aerospace technologies, sensors, microelectronics, advanced materials and radio-frequency seekers as areas where India continues to depend heavily on foreign technology.
India's overall research and development expenditure also remains low compared to major global powers.
India spent around 0.84% of its GDP on R&D in 2023-24, compared with China's 2.58%.
For India to achieve deeper defence self-reliance, increasing manufacturing capacity alone may not be enough. Long-term investment in fundamental and applied research will be critical.
China Shows How Long Technology Self-Reliance Can Take
China offers an important comparison.
Its share of global major arms imports has fallen sharply over the past two decades, from around 12% in 1999-2003 to approximately 1.3% during 2021-25.
However, China's transition towards defence self-reliance took decades of investment, technology development, reverse engineering and industrial expansion.
Even China continues to face challenges in critical technologies such as aircraft engines.
For India, the lesson is that reducing defence imports is not simply about manufacturing more tanks, ships or aircraft domestically.
The real challenge is developing the technologies that sit inside these platforms.
The Road to True Defence Self-Reliance
India's defence industry has clearly made substantial progress.
Record production, rising exports, expanding domestic procurement and the development of indigenous platforms show that the country has moved significantly away from its earlier dependence on imported weapons.
However, the next phase of India's Atmanirbhar defence push will be more difficult.
The focus will increasingly have to shift from assembling and manufacturing platforms to mastering critical technologies such as:
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Fighter aircraft engines
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Naval propulsion systems
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Advanced materials
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Radars and sensors
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Electronic warfare systems
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Microelectronics
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Precision seekers
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Advanced avionics and control systems
India may have made significant progress in building the platforms of modern warfare. But achieving genuine defence self-reliance will depend on whether it can master the technologies that make those platforms move, detect, communicate and fight.
