The Financial Times (FT) reported that India is speeding up the acquisition of domestically made armed drones, spurred by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and armed clashes between India and Pakistan. As successive wars show cheap drones bypassing or overwhelming existing advanced air defenses, analysis says efforts are ramping up to break away from reliance on foreign technology and build a domestic defense supply chain.
FT said, "The Indian military is expanding purchases of armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from domestic companies," adding, "It had focused mainly on reconnaissance and surveillance drones, but the mood has changed recently." According to FT, the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) recently conducted its first test of a drone-launched missile capable of striking both aerial and ground targets. The test reportedly used a drone made by the Indian defense startup NewSpace Research and Technologies (NRT). NRT Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Samir Joshi told FT, "The Iran war turned the debate over the military use of drones from theory into the urgent reality of asymmetric warfare." Joshi said, "Watching low-cost drones bypass or overwhelm advanced air defenses created a strong sense of crisis within India's security authorities."
Orders are in fact surging. IdeaForge, India's largest drone company, said orders for the 2026–2027 fiscal year, which began in Apr., amount to 3.14 billion rupees (about $33 million). At the same point last year, orders were just 140 million rupees. That is more than a 20-fold increase in one year. About 70% of total orders came from the Indian military.
One direct trigger for India's growing demand for armed drones was a four-day military clash with Pakistan last year. The two sides traded air battles and drone and missile strikes at the time. IdeaForge CEO Meta said, "Seeing air attacks inflict economic and military damage, interest in long-range attack drones has risen sharply." IdeaForge is currently also producing drones that can drop grenades.
The Indian government is also accelerating defense localization. About 10 years ago, Narendra Modi, the prime minister, fully allowed private companies to participate in weapons manufacturing. The government aims to foster state-owned and private defense corporations to double the defense industry's annual sales to $30 billion by 2030. It also plans to increase defense spending, currently about 2% of gross domestic product (GDP), to 2.5% by 2031.
According to FT, defense contracts the Indian government signed for the 2025–2026 fiscal year amount to 2.3 trillion rupees. Of that, 70% was allocated to domestic companies. Investment bank Morgan Stanley said in an Apr. report that India's defense production grew at an average annual rate of 13% from 2015 to 2025. The Indian government is targeting average annual growth of 18% over the next five years. Morgan Stanley said, "Defense spending increases are no longer a cyclical phenomenon but a structural change."
Challenges remain. FT noted that while India has partially restricted imports of key Chinese components and increased self-reliance in airframe design and manufacturing, it still depends on foreign sources for critical electronic parts. CEO Joshi said, "Edge Computing, flight-control microchips, and high-performance optical and infrared sensors—the 'brain and muscle' of an aircraft—still have high import dependence."
FT said U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran reminded Indian policymakers of the importance of supply chain sovereignty. CEO Joshi said, "Watching regional conflicts threaten key trade routes has strengthened the view that we can no longer rely on geopolitically vulnerable supply chains." FT analyzed that India's task is expanding beyond domesticating finished goods drones to self-sufficiency in key components such as semiconductors and sensors.