The LOAs signed with the US include technical assistance, training, maintenance, repair, and providing spare parts for a period of five years at an approximate value of ₹ 7,995 crore

MH-60R Seahawk multi-role helicopter

Business Standard

The privately held "big four" may yet land safely, despite the presence of public sector giant HAL in the race

Artist Kuntal Biswas' depiction of the country’s planned indigenous first stealth fighter jet (Photo: Kuntal Biswas)

Artist Kuntal Biswas' depiction of the country's planned indigenous first stealth fighter jet (Photo: Kuntal Biswas)

The jet is made for multirole operations, including both air superiority and ground attack missions

Sukhoi Su-57 jet fighter performs during International military-technical forum "Army-2020" at Kubinka airbase in Moscow Region, Russia August 25, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)

As the global centre of gravity shifts towards the Indo-Pacific, India faces both opportunity and challenge in a bipolar world shaped by US-China rivalry

The Chinese naval ship Qi Jiguang arrives at a commercial port in Sihanoukville, southern Cambodia, on October 10 (Photo: PTI)

Trade wars and cold calls aside, India and the US have had tensions before; however, both bounced back stronger

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 13 (Photo: Reuters)

Defence partnerships signal deeper industrial and military cooperation between India and the United Kingdom

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, at the Raj Bhavan premises, Mumbai, on October 9 (Photo: PTI)

The Indo-Pacific waters carry not just ships and cargo, but the ambitions of nations seeking to shape the future world order

An Indian Navy commanding officer onboard the INS Sahyadri docked at Manila’s North Harbour in the Philippines on November 3, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)

An Indian Navy commanding officer onboard the INS Sahyadri docked at Manila's North Harbour in the Philippines on November 3, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)

The proposal for a single border-guarding force overlooks India's diverse terrain, complex security challenges, and the need for specialised forces

Representational image (Photo: Shutterstock)

From the detachment of the Cold War era to a realignment, long-term interests are driving deeper security ties between the two countries

The India-US joint military exercise Yudh Abhyas conducted in Rajasthan in September 2024.

indian military, indian army, defence, army

The country, situated in a region of complex security challenges, has acknowledged the critical role that drones play

Falcon, a surveillance drone on display at Bharat Drone Shakti 2023 organised by the Indian Air Force and Drone Federation of India at the Hindon Airbase in September 2023. Photo: Reuters

While China's engagement strategy appears to operate on a quid pro quo basis, India's approach seems to be driven by its objectives

The Indian Navy took delivery of the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant from her builder Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Kochi, in July 2022. The 262-metre carrier has a full displacement of close to 45,000 tonnes

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As India strengthens its defence capabilities with AI and frontier technology, the armed forces face a rapidly evolving landscape of information warfare, cyber threats, and autonomous combat systems

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Representational image (Imaging: Ajaya Mohanty)

HAL is leveraging its legacy and ramping up research & development to secure its place in India's evolving defence landscape

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd Chairman and Managing Director D K Sunil with the indigenous light combat Tejas aircraft (Photo: HAL)

A new set of disruptive technologies, indiscriminate use of air power, and obstinate willingness on both sides to test the tripwires have made the India-Pakistan conflict much more complex

Operation Sindoor involved the IAF successfully utilising the Russian-made S-400 missile defence system to counter Pakistani air attacks (Photo: Reuters)

India’s former ambassador to China, Ashok Kantha, tells Satarupa Bhattacharjya in a video interview that talks between the two countries are proving to be a protracted, difficult process > > > >

India's national security strategy is still developing, with challenges in balancing traditional and new threats

national security strategy, Indian military, opinion

Indian soldiers disembark from a military transport plane at a forward airbase in the Ladakh region on September 15, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)

Women may be marching perfectly in parades but they are still denied the opportunity to serve in combat roles in the Indian Army

Colonel Sophia Qureshi (right) and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh at an Indian government media briefing on Operation Sindoor in New Delhi on May 10 (Photo: Reuters)

The task demands a fusion of strategy, infrastructure, and cutting-edge technology to secure territorial sovereignty

Army personnel patrol alongside robotic mules near the LoC on the outskirts of Jammu on October 16 (Photo: PTI)

India takes first official steps to re-engage with the Taliban government

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi on October 10 (Photo: PTI)

It weighs up to 1,500 kilograms and has stealthier features and precision-guided ability

An advanced long-range supersonic missile - BrahMos-NG (Photo: DRDO)

The country's UAV ecosystem needs structural overhaul and better collaboration from the drawing board to deployment

India’s reliance on large UAVs such as the imported MQ-9 Reaper stems from the growing need for persistent ISR capabilities and precision-strike options across vast and contested frontiers (Photo: REUTERS)

India's reliance on large UAVs such as the imported MQ-9 Reaper stems from the growing need for persistent ISR capabilities and precision-strike options across vast and contested frontiers (Photo: REUTERS)

The current tariff war has seen China wield power and dominate its rivals, particularly the United States

A sample of Bastnasite ore, a mineral used in the rare earth industry to extract elements, displayed in Beijing, in October (Photo: Reuters)

One of the foremost experts on South Asian security and military, Christine Fair tells Blueprint that the US under President Trump is ceding ground to China not just in South Asia but everywhere

The Blueprint podcast with Christine Fair

India's former Foreign Secretary, Kanwal Sibal, tells Blueprint why the commonly stated idea of the United States (US) seeing India as a bulwark against China does not reflect India's priorities.

The Blueprint Podcast with Kanwal Sibal

Business Standard presents the inaugural edition of the Blueprint Podcast

Ajay Bisaria, India’s last high commissioner to Pakistan

A new SIPRI yearbook reveals that India now has more nuclear warheads than Pakistan. But China continues to outpace both South Asian neighbours.

The latest outer space military technology systems from around the world

Navigation technology satellite (Photo: AFRL)

A Turkish-developed Bayraktar TB2 drone used by the Sudanese military (Photo: Bayakar)

The latest marine defence technology systems from around the world

Denmark to get array sonar (Photo: Danish MOD)

An Ukrainian soldier firing the Bohdana self-propelled howitzer, an artillery weapon, towards Russian troops near a front line in the Kharkiv region (Photo: Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin was accorded a ceremonial welcome and a tri-services guard of honour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday ahead of crucial summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to be watched closely by western capitals.
President Droupadi Murmu and Modi warmly welcomed the Russian president at the forecourt of the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan, a day after the prime minister hosted the Russian leader for a private dinner.
Following the ceremonial welcome, Putin visited Raj Ghat and paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at the memorial.
The Russian president landed in New Delhi at around 7 pm yesterday for his first visit to India in four years. It is also his first trip to India since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Modi personally received the Russian leader with a hug at the Palam airport from where the two leaders travelled together in a white SUV to the prime minister's official residence.
The conversation between the two leaders over 

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks past guards of honour during a ceremonial reception prior to his meetings with Indian officials in New Delhi, India, December 5, 2025 |  REUTERS

Following the ceremonial welcome, Putin visited Raj Ghat and paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at the memorial

Press Trust of India

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is visiting India for the first time in four years, responded that Moscow remains engaged in efforts to find a 'peaceful resolution' to the situation in Ukraine

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday told Russian President Vladimir Putin that India stands “on the side of peace”, reiterating New Delhi’s long-held position as the two leaders discussed the continuing war in Ukraine.

Modi-Putin

Praising his resolute outlook, the Russian President further added that the Indian PM does not succumb to pressure from any country, including the US

Russian President Vladimir Putin with Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Photo: PTI)

Putin's first visit to India in four years aims to increase sales of Russian oil, missile systems and fighter jets and widen business links beyond energy and defence equipment

Vladimir Putin, Putin

Reuters

Putin India Visit LIVE Updates: Get all the information on Vladimir Putin's India visit, from his arrival and dinner with PM Modi to key talks on trade, defence, economy and global security

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In The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century, Tim Weiner recounts the tale of how the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the United States' foreign intelligence service, reinvented itself

The Mission: The CIA in the 21st century by Tim Weiner

Experts say land warfare remains a real possibility, given India's neighbourhood

Graphical representation of tanks owned by India, China and Pakistan (Photo: BS Blueprint)

In 1948, when Pakistani raiders infiltrated Ladakh, the Dakota rose to the occasion

The Indian Air Force’s Dakota DC-3 aircraft successfully lands in Leh on a 2.1-kilometre-long makeshift runway, built in under a month  (PHOTO: Ministry of Defence)

The Indian Air Force's Dakota DC-3 aircraft successfully lands in Leh on a 2.1-kilometre-long makeshift runway, built in under a month  (PHOTO: Ministry of Defence)

A book about how Brigadier Bal Dutt Mishra rose from a small village in Uttar Pradesh to join the Indian Army and served the country

Cover photo of the book - Nation’s Calling: A Life of Chivalry and Commitment by Brigadier (Dr.) Bal Dutt Mishra

Cover photo of the book - Nation's Calling: A Life of Chivalry and Commitment by Brigadier (Dr.) Bal Dutt Mishra

The decline comes at a time when the DRDO is executing 292 projects valued at over ₹1 trillion

Imaging done by Ajaya Mohanty

The Business Standard Defence Index is designed to track the performance of 25 key defence stocks

From aircraft to spacecraft components, India's aerospace sector has rebounded sharply, with Gulf nations emerging as top buyers

Representational image

Representational image Photo: Shutterstock

From power and transport to health and education, projects across Asia and Africa reflect a push for partnership driven diplomacy

Taxiing in: India's stealth fighter

India's gambit for the Indo-Pacific century

The 'modern' guarding forces of India's borders

Palestinian officials shed light on the challenges of postwar reconstruction

A man looks out from his damaged apartment at the destruction in his neighbourhood in Gaza City in October (Photo: PTI)

Can Gaza rise from rubble?

A battle within

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Experts caution India on China's Indo-Pacific moves

The Indian guided-missile destroyer INS Kolkata leaves Sydney Harbour after the conclusion of the Malabar naval exercise in Sydney, Australia, on August 22, 2023 (Photo: Reuters)

Battle for the high seas

The public company is betting big on India's second attempt to claim a larger share of global shipbuilding

MDL's present-day-80-acre shipyard originated in a small dry dock in 1774 (Photo: Bhaswar Kumar)

As tides shift, MDL lays new keel

Operation Sindoor revealed how maritime power - not missiles or borders - now defines the next phase of the India-Pakistan rivalry

Pakistan Navy's submarine sails past a naval sailing ship during the sea phase of its 9th Multinational Maritime Exercise AMAN-25 in the Arabian Sea near Karachi on February 10 (Photo: Reuters)

Hot waters - India and Pakistan flex their muscles in the Arabian Sea

As wars grow faster, smarter, and borderless, India faces a pivotal choice - modernise its doctrine or risk strategic irrelevance

The Indian Army conducts Exercise Divya Drishti in Sikkim to test modern warfare systems (Photo: Indian Army)

Revisiting India's military doctrine

Sudarshan Chakra fuses shield and sword into one doctrine of power, but its broad contours are unclear

The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023 (Photo: Reuters)

From Iron Dome to Star Wars, it is now India's turn

modern warfare, artificial intelligence, cyber war, indian warfare, robotics

Indian Army personnel inspect an armed drone during exercise Drone Prahar (Photo: Indian Army)

Old war, new plan: Experts urge policy consolidation on unconventional combat

HAL turns to its past to navigate an uncertain future

National Security Strategy: Framing the first steps in the Indian context

Incremental climbs on the escalation ladder

A combat-capable flying wing UCAV at Malan, underscoring Beijing's push to expand its stealth drone fleet and reshape air power dynamics

The model of a Chinese-made Warrior Eagle Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is displayed before the opening of the Airshow China 2008 Zhuhai, China on November 3, 2008 (Photo: Reuters)

Satellite image reveals China's uncrewed CAV with 137-feet wing span

Explore Blueprint Defence by Business Standard — your authoritative source for analysis on India’s defence sector, military strategy, and global geopolitics. Stay ahead with sharp, policy-driven insights.

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R&D share in defence budget dips amid self-reliance ambitions

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Aerospace exports take off, Gulf states now top buyers

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India funds 64 overseas development projects, totalling $12.84 billion