The Amca programme could deliver the defence sector's own Maruti moment

A prototype of the advanced medium combat aircraft at the Aero India air show at Yelahanka air base, Bengaluru, in 2025. Photo: Reuters

Business Standard

An in-depth report on the industry in India that has evolved 
from amateur designs to export items

Indian army personnel holding an Insas rifle during a joint exercise with the Royal Thai Army in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand, in 2018. photo: Indian Army/ X

These ships enhance maritime security, support the blue economy and push India's position as a leading maritime power in the Indian Ocean region

Indian navy, naval warship, Indian ocean, Maritime security

A partnership forged in opportunity now confronts the realities of great-power politics

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump as they attend a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, in June 2026. Photo: Reuters

With reunification ambitions intensifying, the Taiwan Strait remains Asia's most volatile flashpoint

Taiwan Coast Guard patrol vessels stationed at Keelung during China’s ‘Justice Mission 2025’ military drills around Taiwan on December 30, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Taiwan Coast Guard patrol vessels stationed at Keelung during China's ‘Justice Mission 2025' military drills around Taiwan on December 30, 2025. Photo: Reuters

If the country's energy vulnerability is structural, so must be the response to it

(From left) EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State  Marco Rubio, Fr

The US has acted in a unilateral manner in the Hormuz and its transgression of humanitarian law and convention is at variance with the principles underpinning the Quad

INS Sahyadri during the Quad’s multilateral Exercise Malabar 2025 in the Northern Pacific. Photo: PIB

INS Sahyadri during the Quad's multilateral Exercise Malabar 2025 in the Northern Pacific. Photo: PIB

President Donald Trump has announced a US counter-blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to prevent the passage of Iranian oil shipments

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 6, 2026

By shifting the Nato into a transactional alliance, Europe must build its own sovereign deterrence

(From left to right) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italia

NATO, NATO alliance, Europe, United States

Can China replace the United States (US) as the principal external anchor in West Asia? The short answer is no, but the longer answer is more consequential than a simple negative

A Chinese warship participates in joint Navy exercise of Iran, China and Russia in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, on March 12. Iranian Army

The impasse continues, with the Hormuz being closed by Iran, thereby aggravating an already disrupted global energy market and the US maintaining the naval blockade that seeks to choke Iran's economy

Operation Epic Fury, Suez Canal, US-Israel war, World War II

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

Representational image (Imaging: Ajaya Mohanty)

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

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

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

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

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

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 > > > >

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)

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

Lessons from the Russia-Ukraine conflict for India's space security

A Ukrainian soldier with a Starlink satellite internet system near Avdiivka town in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on February 20, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Their economic partnership is increasingly facing the strategic challenge of avoiding a trade war

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (left) with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during the EU-China Business Leaders Symposium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, in July 2025. Photo: Reuters

The impact and cost-effectiveness of the Iranian drone have led major global powers to reverse-engineer it

Low-cost uncrewed combat attack system, a variant of the Shahed drone deployed by the United States against Iran in Februrary 2026

The core component of China's deterrence will pose challenges for India in the event of a conflict

A PHZ-11 122mm multiple launch rocket system fired from a brigade during a live-training exercise in March 2026. Photo: China military website

As Xi ousts his top military general and controls both the party and the gun, Taiwan's anxiety escalates unprecedentedly high levels

Internally in China, as mentioned, the purging of General Zhang Youxia will send shockwaves through the PLA and the Communist Party itself. (Photo: reuters)

Internally in China, as mentioned, the purging of General Zhang Youxia will send shockwaves through the PLA and the Communist Party itself.

Lina Khatib, associate fellow, Middle East and North Africa programme Chatham House talks to 
BS Blueprint

Lina Khatib

A veteran of four decades in the defence industry, Arun T Ramchandani, Senior Vice-President (Precision Engineering & Systems) at Larsen & Toubro, speaks to BS Blueprint >

Group Captain Rajiv Kumar Narang (retired) tells Bhaswar Kumar why the armed forces must move beyond cooperation in indigenous programmes to genuine partnership.
Episode: 11 > >

Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari (retired) tells Bhaswar Kumar that India urgently needs an overarching, empowered and professional body to drive military aerospace projects.

Hilal Khashan speaks to Mohammad Asif Khan on Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, the internal challenges facing Hezbollah, and the broader regional dynamics shaping the conflict. >

A variant of Hermes 900 deployed by Israel against Hezbollah in 2026. Photo: Elbit Systems

Below are pictures of the latest remotely operated weapons as featured in Blueprint July 2026

‘Personnel’ shield A Ukrainian soldier remotely controls an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) during testing at a training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, in April.  These systems are increasingly deployed on the frontline to shield infantry

‘Personnel' shield A Ukrainian soldier remotely controls an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) during testing at a training ground in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, in April.  These systems are increasingly deployed on the frontline to shield infantry

Below are pictures of naval technology and modern defence maritime weapons as featured in Blueprint May 2026

The United Kingdom (UK) Royal Navy has bolstered its mine-hunting capabilities by integrating modern uncrewed equipment into the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Lyme Bay in March.

Taliban soldiers using anti-aircraft gun in Khost province, Afghanistan, on February 27, 2026

In a matching solemn tribute across the highest landmarks of the national capital, the tricolour is also flying at half-mast today atop the historic Parliament House and Samvidhan Sadan

former Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani

India condemned the attack on GFS Galaxy as deeply worrisome and said its embassy in Oman was coordinating with local authorities in the search operation

Hormuz, ships, shipping,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed agreements spanning defence, uranium, critical minerals and technology with Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand as regional powers strengthen cooperation

Narendra Modi, PM Modi, Modi

Bloomberg

Future wars may be fought with Artificial Intelligence, but they will still be won by national resolve, trained soldiers and robust military power, Defence Minister Rajanth Singh said on Saturday.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony of INA Mahendragiri here, Singh also said Andhra Pradesh has emerged as a new powerhouse of India's defence and aerospace manufacturing.
"Future wars may be fought with Artificial Intelligence, but they will still be won by national resolve, trained soldiers and the capable military power. So, I would say that new technologies and conventional platforms are not opposed to each other, but supplement each other, complete each other. Without conventional platforms, new technologies are incomplete in themselves," he said.
According to Singh, it is certain that new technologies have certainly reshaped warfare, but they have not diminished the role of conventional warfare means.
The strong conventional capability that is still necessary for the fulfilment

Rajnath Singh, Rajnath

At the commissioning of INS Mahendragiri, Defence Minister said AI is reshaping warfare but cannot replace trained soldiers, national resolve and strong conventional military capabilities

Press Trust of India

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday commissioned Mahendragiri, the sixth Project 17A indigenous stealth frigate, into the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet here, marking another milestone in India's journey towards defence self-reliance and indigenous warship construction.
The commissioning ceremony was held in the presence of senior naval officials and other dignitaries at the naval dockyard in the port city.
"INS Mahendragiri can effectively counter threats from the air, enemy vessels on the surface and submarines beneath the sea. As a blue-water warship, it can protect India's maritime interests not only near the coast but also in distant and deep oceans for weeks at a time," said Singh, addressing the commissioning ceremony at Eastern Naval Command (ENC).
Congratulating Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), the Indian Navy, the crew of INS Mahendragiri and the people of the country, Singh said the warship reflects India's growing defence manufacturing capability and commitme

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attends the commissioning ceremony of INS Mahendragiri, in Visakhapatnam

Defence Minister commissioned INS Mahendragiri, the sixth indigenous Project 17A stealth frigate, into the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet, describing the warship as a major boost to maritime capability

The nature of warfare in modern times has gone far beyond the boundaries of the battlefield

Statecraft: The New Rules Of Power In A Divided World By Jack Watling

Remembering Captain Vikram Batra, the hero of Kargil

Captain Vikram Batra sharing a light moment with fellow soliders during the 1999 Kargil War. Photo: MOD

Target Tehran traces the deep tentacles of Israeli intelligence in Iran that proved decisive in the latest clash

The Wall Street Journal called it the best book of the year in 2023, when it was published

West Asia continues to sit on a powder keg

US soldiers walk past surface-to-air missiles of the former regime of Saddam Hussain in Tikrit, Iraq, on September 1, 2003

Beneath the defence budget's headline numbers lie cuts, windfalls and diverging fortunes

An Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter during the rehearsal for the exercise 'Vayu Shakti 2026', at the Air Force firing range at Pokhran, Rajasthan. Photo: Reuters

The index saw a bullish trend, with 22 of its 25 companies advancing and only three declining

Photo: Shutterstock

Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and France emerge as top export destinations

US no longer top destination for India’s aerospace exports

US no longer top destination for India's aerospace exports

Iran's missile-and-drone arsenal offset a huge US deployment

Under one-third of US Navy deployed

The index reached a market capitalisation of ₹11.6 trillion, with all 25 constituents moving northward. MTAR Technologies and Apollo Micro Systems led the surge

The technical breakout in the BSE Defence Index led to a broad-based buying

It is an air-to-ground and air-to-air munition, which can carry three different types of warheads

The  ULPGM is a family of indigenous “fire-and-forget” precision strike weapons. Photo: PIB

The system targets submarines from long range, though questions remain on its efficacy

Supersonic Missile-Assisted Release of Torpedo system successfully tested on May 1, 2024, from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha. Photo: PIB

India is developing a new generation of autonomous systems to tackle mines

New man-portable autonomous underwater vehicles developed by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory, Visakhapatnam, in November 2025

The LRGR-120 has an increased range of about 120 kilometres (km) from the previous 40-50 km along with guided accuracy

Pinaka long-range guided rocket (LRGR-120)

The US military's official tally of deaths in the Iran war has risen to 14 service members, with the death of a Navy pilot in a helicopter crash in early July in the Arabian Sea.
The number of wounded troops from the conflict also has grown to more than 400 as of Monday. Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for US Central Command, said the majority of them suffered traumatic brain injuries.
The Navy initially described the July 1 crash as an emergency landing and said there was "no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action". The remaining three sailors aboard the helicopter were rescued shortly after the mishap.
The Pentagon's war casualty count added one non-hostile death in July. It is the first death recorded since 13 service members were killed in separate incidents in March at the beginning of the war.
The first was an Iranian drone strike on a command centre in Kuwait that killed six soldiers. Then one soldier died more than a week after initially being wounded in an atta

US-Iran, Iran, US

The US military said its death toll in the Iran conflict has risen to 14 after a Navy helicopter crash, while the number of wounded service members has climbed to more than 400

Trump announced a renewed naval blockade targeting Iran and vowed more military strikes, as the US resumed operations around the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating tensions with Tehran

Donald Trump,Trump

The US launched strikes on Iran as President Donald Trump reinstated a blockade of Iranian shipping and proposed a 20% fee on cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz, escalating regional tensions

US-Iran, US, Iran

Reuters

Donald Trump said the United States would reinstate a naval blockade on Iran and impose a 20 per cent charge on cargo moving through the Strait of Hormuz

donald trump, trump

The renewed violence casts further doubt on the future of an interim US-Iranian agreement signed last month that aimed to reopen the strait and end the war after a further 60 days of negotiations

US sanctions on Iran, Trump Economic Fury campaign, Iran oil exports China, US Iran economic pressure, Strait of Hormuz crisis

A file photo of an engineer at SSS Defence in Bengaluru working on the computer-aided design of a rifle frame. Photo: SSS Defence

A big moment for small arms

More than a stealth fighter

For India, it is about maintaining a balance and staying relevant while also calibrating on how far it can go while maintaining a good relationship with China

A Philippine boat near a Chinese Coast Guard ship in the South China Sea in 2023.  Photo: Reuters

Quad: The strategic reality check

The Quad can help secure resources, but India must convert them into strategic strength

A smelting plant that processes extracted copper ore, a critical mineral for India, into pure metal in Dahej, Gujarat. Photo: Hindalco

Mineral dilemma

India's new border grid promises a high-tech shield, but complex borders remain the real test

Infiltrators arrested along the Indian borders in 2025

Fixing blind spots

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Sanctions and blockades are used as nonconventional tools to apply force

A satellite image showing smoke billowing at Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia after a reported attack, following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war on April 8, 2026 (Photo: Reuters)

The geoeconomic battlefield

The integrated theatre command plan looks at India's strategic challenges and opportunities on land and in water:  General Anil Chauhan

Theatre command, Operation Sindoor, CDS, India Pakistan relations

'This is the need of the hour'

Missiles once reserved for nuclear war are increasingly shaping conventional conflict, and India must keep up

The Ukrainian military shoots down a missile during a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, in January 2026 (Photo: Reuters)

Sustaining the costly offensive

The United Arab Emirates' Opec exit could open doors for India

A silver lining

The US-Iran 'virtual' conflict spotlights the growing impact of cognitive warfare

Memes at war

The military lessons for India from West Asia include preparing for protracted wars, interviewees say

Munitions placed near a B‑1B Lancer military aircraft at RAF Fairford airbase in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, on April 7, 2026

Conflict call

Precision-guided missiles matter more than ever

The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, jointly developed by the DRDO and Russia’s NPOM, is the world’s fastest precision-guided weapon

Pin-point power

India needs low-cost interceptors to confront the new dynamics of drone warfare

A Sting interceptor drone flies during a training in Ukraine in April 2026

Attrition's new rule

The West Asia conflict has presented a paradox for the future of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor

A CCTV footage of smoke rising from the Haifa oil refinery in Israel after a reported Iranian attack on March 19, 2026

The promised gateway

Undersea drones

How predictive AI is changing outcomes in conflict

The hyperwar is here

Private players call for the government to identify 'national champions' in defence buying

Private defence firms have made gains in producing armoured vehicles and light tanks, exemplified by the K9 Vajra-T self-propelled tracked artillery gun (centre), developed through collaboration with foreign partners in India

Slender hopes of mindset shift

A summit finds that countries are being pragmatic in the pursuit of national interests

Raisina Dialogue, Diplomacy, Defence and geopolitical news

Pallbearers of the 'liberal order'

Gaps in India's surveillance fleet highlight serious vulnerability in a conflict situation

Netra airborne electronic warfare and control, a specially modified ERJ-145 aircraft fitted with indigenous sensors (PHOTO: IAF)

India's missing eyes in the sky

India's defence modernisation hinges on an ecosystem of military-grade semiconductors

Some materials and modules of the gallium nitride chips (Photo: AGNIT Semiconductors)

A silicon gap

satellites, operational satellites, orbit, India

A Dark Matter

The strategic side of India-US ties is largely unaffected. So far

Personnel from the Indian and the US armies interact during Exercise Yudhabhyas held in the United States in 2025

On the mend or not

India needs many more warships, but must first choose between consolidation and competition in shipbuilders

An Indian Navy ship at the Mazagon Dock in Mumbai

A fork in the road for defence shipyards

The US pressure has cast a shadow on India's strategic bet on the Chabahar Port

Chabahar is an important component of the INSTC (PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK)

The Iran quagmire

Inside China's military upheaval: Power struggle or consolidation?

India's armed forces are adopting artificial intelligence. Analysts urge advancing it

A device for underwater domain awareness that uses AI or machine learning and goes through voluminous data (Photo: Ministry of Defence)

The future in the present: AI in the armed forces

With Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's capture, the United States reasserts its pre-eminence in Latin America

Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is escorted for a courthouse appearance to face multiple charges,including narco-terrorism, in New York City on January 5, 2026 (Photo: Reuters)

A return to spheres of influence in Venezuela

The army has found an answer to China's rapid build-up of infrastructure and military installations on the border

Indian Army personnel assembling the 3D-printed structure (Photo: Indian Army)

3D-printed military structures dot the Himalayas

India's Global South ambition runs up against China's power - making coalition-building, not solo leadership, the more realistic path

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa during the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 7, 2025 (Photo: Reuters)

How India can lead the Global South

From power grids to payments, India's digital backbone is increasingly under strain

Cyber suraksha exercise in June 2025 (Photo: PIB)

Cyber war without a strategy

Industry insiders expect the government to push military modernisation much further - and faster

The Indian Air Force light combat helicopter Prachand performs during the Aero India airshow in Bengaluru on February 13, 2023 (Photo: Reuters)

Inside the next Defence budget

Why winter gear is central to building  the country's Himalayan deterrence

Breakdown of the Himkavach (Photo: DRDO; Graphics: Blueprint design desk)

Holding the frigid ground

From Chola naval power to Curzon's imperial spectacle and today's Indo-Pacific contest, the Indian Ocean has long shaped Asia's politics, trade, and ideas

Subhas Chandra Bose transfers in a rubber raft from a German to a Japanese submarine in the Indian Ocean in April 1943 (Photo: Netaji Research Bureau, Kolkata)

A geopolitical history of the Indian Ocean arena

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India's military modernisation: Strong but uneven

Market radar: May 23, 2026 to June 22, 2026

Indian aerospace exports surge amid a slump in US shipments

A David-Goliath clash

Market radar: March 21, 2026 to April 22, 2026