https://sputniknews.in/20260820/india-opens-its-nuclear-missile-programme-to-private-industry-for-first-time-12004616.html
India Opens Its Nuclear Missile Programme to Private Industry For First Time
India Opens Its Nuclear Missile Programme to Private Industry For First Time
Sputnik India
India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the country’s premier military research and development institution, is moving ahead with a plan... 20.08.2026, Sputnik India
2026-08-20T19:03+0530
2026-08-20T19:03+0530
2026-08-20T19:03+0530
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The reported decision to allow private sector participation in the development and manufacturing of India’s strategic weapons, including nuclear platforms, is a welcome step that would boost the country’s war reserves and operational readiness of its armed forces, military pundits have said.Previously, all this was the exclusive prerogative of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and state-run shipyards, which were building warships, Commodore (Retd) Seshadri Vasan told Sputnik India.However, now the environment is such that India has no choice but to produce weapons on its own. The recent conflicts, both in Russia-Ukraine as well as between Iran and the US, have indicated that unless a country has a sufficient stock of missiles, produce these precision weapons as required, it will not be able to sustain a long war, he added. In the last three or four decades, there has been a lot of emphasis on engaging the private partners within India’s military-industrial complex. For instance, Arihant, the nation’s maiden nuclear submarine, was a result of engagement with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in a big way, along with Russian specialists and DRDO, the Indian Navy veteran stressed.The fact that India is exporting the BrahMos to Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines has shown that a complete ecosystem is required to sustain production capability, ensure modifications, the protocols, and the safeties that are required and all of these are incorporated and this cannot be done only by a handful of people who are working in government agencies, he explained.There’s no doubt that there’s plenty of dividend that will come about with this move because the technology today is moving by leaps and bounds and it cannot be just confined to the laboratories or a handful of scientists who are working on this in their labs, the military commentator noted. Meanwhile, Group Captain (Retd) Uttam Kumar Devnath, an Indian Air Force (IAF) veteran, underlined that most likely, certain components, engine and airframe of Agni series of missiles and various submarine-launched nuclear -capable missiles will be manufactured by various private partners like the Tata Advanced Systems, Solar Defence and Aerospace, Adani or Bharat Forge Groups.At present, these companies are being verified, and a technical evolution is being carried out to shortlist companies that will mass produce these surface-to-surface, surface-to-air or air-to-air or ship-to-surface or submarine-to-ship missiles, he stated.
https://sputniknews.in/20260814/brahmos-for-every-major-indian-warship-what-it-means-for-naval-operations-11958797.html
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gautam adani, india, russia, iran, indian air force (iaf), ukraine, missiles, nuclear weapons, nuclear submarine, delhi, new delhi, military equipment, defense sector, defense export, strategic deterrent, strategic autonomy, drdo, hindustan aeronautics limited (hal)
gautam adani, india, russia, iran, indian air force (iaf), ukraine, missiles, nuclear weapons, nuclear submarine, delhi, new delhi, military equipment, defense sector, defense export, strategic deterrent, strategic autonomy, drdo, hindustan aeronautics limited (hal)
India Opens Its Nuclear Missile Programme to Private Industry For First Time
India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the country’s premier military research and development institution, is moving ahead with a plan to open up the development and production of strategic missile systems for private sector firms.
The reported decision to allow private sector participation in the development and manufacturing of India’s strategic weapons, including nuclear platforms, is a welcome step that would boost the country’s war reserves and operational readiness of its armed forces, military pundits have said.
Previously, all this was the exclusive prerogative of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and state-run shipyards, which were building warships, Commodore (Retd) Seshadri Vasan told Sputnik India.
However, now the environment is such that India has no choice but to produce weapons on its own. The recent conflicts, both in Russia-Ukraine as well as between Iran and the US, have indicated that unless a country
has a sufficient stock of missiles, produce these precision weapons as required, it will not be able to sustain a long war, he added.
In the last three or four decades, there has been a lot of emphasis on engaging the private partners within India’s military-industrial complex. For instance, Arihant, the nation’s maiden nuclear submarine, was a result of engagement with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in a big way, along with Russian specialists and DRDO, the Indian Navy veteran stressed.
“Therefore, it's better late than never. More so, the nation is now ready and is willing to bring on board technically highly competent people from outside, from the private industry, from wherever they are, to complement India's effort as it progresses towards Vikshit Bharat (Developed India) 2047. Make in India, Make in India for the world are no longer just slogans, they are being executed on the ground,” Vasan underlined.
The fact that India is exporting the
BrahMos to Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines has shown that a complete ecosystem is required to
sustain production capability, ensure modifications, the protocols, and the safeties that are required and all of these are incorporated and this cannot be done only by a handful of people who are working in government agencies, he explained.
There’s no doubt that there’s plenty of dividend that will come about with this move because the technology today is moving by leaps and bounds and it cannot be just confined to the laboratories or a handful of scientists who are working on this in their labs, the military commentator noted.
Meanwhile, Group Captain (Retd) Uttam Kumar Devnath, an Indian Air Force (IAF) veteran, underlined that most likely, certain components, engine and airframe of Agni series of missiles and various submarine-launched nuclear -capable missiles will be manufactured by various private partners like the Tata Advanced Systems, Solar Defence and Aerospace, Adani or Bharat Forge Groups.
At present, these companies are being verified, and a technical evolution is
being carried out to shortlist companies that will mass produce these surface-to-surface, surface-to-air or air-to-air or ship-to-surface or submarine-to-ship missiles, he stated.
“While it is a long way, this development will propel India on a path to become self-sufficient in the defence sector and also transform it into a major arms producer, which in turn will lead it to become a global weapons exporter,” Devnath summed up.
