Saturday, 25 Oct, 2025
The advanced facility, an integral part of the UP Defence Industrial Corridor, had been virtually inaugurated by the Raksha Mantri on May 11, 2025, and in just five months, it successfully produced the first set of missiles ready for operational deployment. Image Source: Sputnik India
BrahMos is a versatile, long-range supersonic cruise missile developed jointly by India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPOM and produced by BrahMos Aerospace
Reaffirming India’s commitment to self-reliance in defence production, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath jointly flagged off the first batch of BrahMos missiles manufactured at the BrahMos Integration and Testing Facility Centre in Lucknow on October 18, 2025. The advanced facility, an integral part of the UP Defence Industrial Corridor, had been virtually inaugurated by the Raksha Mantri on May 11, 2025, and in just five months, it successfully produced the first set of missiles ready for operational deployment.
In his address, Rajnath Singh described the BrahMos not merely as a missile, but as a symbol of India’s growing indigenous defence prowess. Referring to its pivotal role in Operation Sindoor, he noted that BrahMos has evolved from a system under trials to a decisive demonstration of India’s defence capabilities, emphasizing that the entire territory of Pakistan now falls within its range.
The Raksha Mantri further stated that India has reached a stage where it is simultaneously fortifying its security and establishing itself as a reliable global partner in defence and technology. He added that achievements like BrahMos have transformed Made-in-India from a slogan into a globally recognized brand of excellence.
BrahMos is a versatile, long-range supersonic cruise missile developed jointly by India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPOM and produced by BrahMos Aerospace; designed for launch from land, sea and air platforms, it comes in two primary mission variants- anti-ship and land-attack and has been inducted into service with both the Indian Navy and the Indian Army. Unlike ballistic missiles, BrahMos is an unmanned, self-propelled guided vehicle that sustains flight using aerodynamic lift for most of its trajectory, combining a booster for launch with a cruise stage to maintain high supersonic speeds; this high speed, together with sea-skimming flight profiles and flexible trajectory options, shortens an adversary’s reaction window and complicates interception.
The missile uses an integrated guidance suite, typically inertial navigation with satellite updates and a terminal seeker for precise strikes against fixed and moving targets, and is offered in multiple launcher configurations (road-mobile TELs, ship and submarine VLS, and air-launched variants) with warhead options suited to blast/fragmentation or penetration roles. Its combination of speed, accuracy, multi-platform deployment and varied terminal profiles makes BrahMos a potent tactical and operational precision-strike system across maritime and land theatres.
The government of India has been taking a number of steps towards achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing and boosting India’s defence exports. Recently, India updated the Defence Procurement Manual. a key policy document designed to modernise and simplify the revenue procurement process of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The updated framework is expected to address the evolving operational needs of the Armed Forces, enhance jointness among the three Services, and ensure faster decision-making to maintain high levels of military readiness.
The manual, which governs revenue procurements under the Operations and Sustenance segment, seeks to guarantee timely access to critical resources at optimal costs. It also reinforces the government’s push towards Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in defence by encouraging greater participation of domestic industry including private firms, MSMEs, start-ups, and established Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). Ease of doing business has been further embedded in the document, with an emphasis on harnessing the capabilities of India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem. With procurement under the MoD valued at nearly ₹1 lakh crore for the current financial year, the revised DPM is expected to play a pivotal role in balancing efficiency with transparency, accountability, and fair competition.
India’s defence manufacturing output has touched a record ₹1,50,590 crore in FY 2024-25, marking an 18 percent jump from the previous year’s ₹1.27 lakh crore and a striking 90 percent surge since FY 2019-20, when production stood at ₹79,071 crore. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailed the achievement as a testament to the country’s strengthening defence industrial base, crediting the Department of Defence Production, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), public manufacturers, and private industry for their role in driving growth. DPSUs and other public sector units accounted for around 77 percent of the total output, while the private sector contributed 23 percent, up from 21 percent in FY 2023-24. The figures underscore the rising influence of private players in India’s defence ecosystem.
India’s Defence production
Source: Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence
Officials attribute the sustained year-on-year growth in both segments- 16 percent for DPSUs and 28 percent for private firms in FY 2024-25 to sweeping policy reforms, improved ease of doing business, and a decade-long push for indigenisation. Strategic policies have been crucial in accelerating this progress, promoting private sector involvement, fostering technological innovation, and advancing the creation of sophisticated military platforms. The significant increase in the defence budget rising from ₹2.53 lakh crore in 2013-14 to ₹6.81 lakh crore in 2025-26 underscores the nation's unwavering commitment to bolstering its military infrastructure.
The government aims to nearly quadruple India's annual defence output to ₹3 lakh crore by 2028-2029, while more than doubling defence exports from the current ₹23,622 crore to ₹50,000 crore. India has transitioned from being heavily import-dependent to increasingly prioritising self-reliance and indigenous defence manufacturing. In a significant boost to exports, the country shipped a diverse range of products, including ammunition, arms, sub-systems, complete systems, and components to nearly 80 nations in the recently concluded financial year.
India’s Defence Exports
Source: Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence
The Department of Defence Production (DDP) and the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) have released five Positive Indigenisation Lists (PILs) covering a range of items, including LRUs, assemblies, sub-assemblies, sub-systems, spares, components, and high-end materials. These lists establish clear timelines for when procurement will be restricted to domestic manufacturers. As of February 2025, more than 3,000 of the over 5,500 listed items have been successfully indigenised. Notable technologies that have been developed domestically include artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, light combat helicopters (LCHs), radars, wheeled armoured platforms, rockets, bombs, armoured command post vehicles, and armoured dozers.
According to the MoD, a series of policy reforms in recent years has strengthened the sector. Measures include simplifying industrial licensing procedures, removing certain components from licensing requirements, and extending licence validity periods. In the past fiscal year, the Standard Operating Procedure for export authorisation was also streamlined, with new provisions introduced to further boost India’s defence export potential.
The BrahMos Integration & Testing Facility Centre under the UP Defence Corridor in Lucknow is expected to further provide a boost to defence manufacturing and exports from India.
