Sanctions and blockades are used as nonconventional tools to apply force

The Epaminondas ship during its seizure  by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard  Corps in the Strait of Hormuz in Iran on April 24, 2026 (Photo: Reuters)

West Asia, US-Iran tensions, geoeconomics

Business Standard

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)

precision weapons, nuclear war, missiles, BrahMos

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

Modern conflicts rely on rapid adaptation and low-cost capabilities rather than high manoeuvre alone, as demonstrated in the Russia-Ukraine war, tensions involving Iran, and China's strategic posture

Polish-made unmanned tracked ground vehicles (UGV) KUNA, deployed by Ukraine in the war against Russia, during an open test of unmanned weapon systems at the Military Institute of Armament Technology training ground in Poland on February 19, 2026 (Ph

Taiwan, China, US Iran tensions, Russia Ukraine Conflict, Military weapon

The Trump administration has repositioned China as an economic competitor to be managed through deal-making rather than a systemic adversary to be countered through alliances

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, shakes hands with US President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on May 14, 2026 (Photo: PTI)

US China, Donald Trump, China US trade, China visit

France supports India's multi-alignment with flexible defence deals, from helicopters to submarines, fortifying Indo-Pacific security ties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron during a meeting in Mumbai in February 2026 (Photo:MEA)

For the EU and India to make progress in their strategic relationship, they will have to transcend the commercial-economic dynamics of their relationship.

Leaders of the European Union and India sign the Security and Defence Partnership agreement at the Hyderabad House, New Delhi, on January 27, 2026 (Photo: Reuters)

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

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

PM UAE visit

China's rising stature and increasing oceanic access are shifting the rules of the game

USS Rafael Peralta near a vessel trying to sail to an Iranian port, as claimed by the CENTCOM, amid the US blockade at an unknown location in April 2026 (Photo: Reuters)

China, United States, BRICS, war

Can the force that has emerged in its 14th Five-Year Plan fight and win at the level of sophistication required

China, military, Defence reforms

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 >

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. >

An expert in European foreign and security policy, SVEN BISCOP speaks to BS Blueprint

The Blueprint Podcast with Sven Biscop

A destroyed tank on a field, following a fight between the Ethiopian and the Tigray forces in Afar region, Ethiopia, on February 25, 2022 (Photo: Reuters)

ethiopia war

Below are pictures of hypersonic and supersonic weapons as featured in Blueprint June 2026

Hypersonic weapons

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

Several leaders of the Taliban, which took control of Kabul in August 2021, are listed under the 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council

Parvathaneni Harish, Parvathaneni

Press Trust of India

India on Monday hit out at Pakistan at the UN, slamming Islamabad's decision to refer to groups inside its own borders as 'Fitna al-Hindustan' as nothing but "officially sponsored misinformation and disinformation dressed in religious terminology."
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni delivered a strong statement against Pakistan here during a UN Security Council meeting on the 'Situation in Afghanistan'.
Hitting out strongly,Parvathaneni said that Pakistan coming up with official notifications, directing its government agencies to start referring to groups inside its own borders as 'Fitna al Hindustan', "is nothing but officially sponsored misinformation and disinformation dressed in religious terminology".
Last year, the government of Pakistan officially designated all terrorist groups and organisations operating in Balochistan province 'Fitna al Hindustan', alleging, without giving any proof, that the outfits indulged in terrorism at India's .

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni delivered a strong statement against Pakistan here during a UN Security Council meeting on the 'Situation in Afghanistan'.

The report has described Operation Sindoor as 'an unusually severe military crisis' between the two nuclear neighbours India and Pakistan in May 2025

The biennial Tri-Services Amphibious Exercise (AMPHEX) 2023 conducted in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, from January 17 to 22 , 2023. AMPHEX is aimed at joint training of elements of all three services in various facets of amphibious operations to enhance

indian military, indian army, defence, army

General Anil Chauhan says the plan looks at India's geography as one entity and then beyond

Chief of the Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan (Photo: MoD)

Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Saturday that he understood a BrahMos missile deal with Vietnam had already been signed, though it was probably yet to be publicly announced, while a similar pact involving Indonesia was in the final stages.
"My understanding is that with both Indonesia and with Vietnam, the deal is in the final stages that in fact, for Vietnam, I understand that it has already been signed, probably not publicly announced, but it's already been signed," Singh said in Singapore, while answering a question on potential buyers of the missile system at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
The Philippines, which signed a contract worth nearly USD 375 million in 2022, was the first foreign buyer of the BrahMos missile system from India.
Indonesia said in March that it had entered into an agreement with India to procure the BrahMos missile system.
And, earlier this month, there were news reports that suggested Vietnam was close to signing a BrahMos missile deal with India.

Brahmos

The Philippines, which signed a contract worth nearly $ 375 million in 2022, was the first foreign buyer of the BrahMos missile system from India

China's Wars - The Politics and Diplomacy Behind its Military Coercion traces how the country has utilised methods of military coercion to exert dominance without getting into a major conflict

The book is written by the former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale

China, War Conflict, military

Folland Gnat, operated by the IAF during the 1971 India-Pakistan war, earned success against Pakistan’s F-86 Sabre jets in aerial combat over East Pakistan, now Bangladesh

Operation Sindoor, India Pakistan relations, Pahalgam attack, Fighter jet

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

The index witnessed a mixed trend, with 12 constituents posting gains. The combined market capitalisation of the companies stood at over ₹11.5 trillion for the second straight month

The technical breakout in the BSE Defence Index led to a broad-based buying. Photo: Shutterstock

Only three of India's 16 public sector arms manufacturers meet global benchmarks

DPSUs, arms export, defence news

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

Precision strike missile is a surface-to-surface missile with a range of about 500 kilometres with inertial navigation system and gps guidance

A Lockheed Martin-built HIMARS fires the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) during a US Army flight test in 2019 (Photo: Lockheed Martin)

LUCAS, PrSM, missile, West Asia conflict, Precision strike

Mini-submarines are emerging as a critical layer in India's maritime warfare

Mini-submarines, shipping routes, Strait of Hormuz,

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)

Trump said he warned Netanyahu against resuming war with Iran, while Israel's envoy dismisses reports of pressure, describing the leaders' relationship as strong and cooperative

Donald Trump, Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Benjamin

Reuters

Israel's latest strikes on Lebanon and Iran have made clear that US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who started the war in lockstep, want different things.
Trump had publicly warned Israel not to strike Beirut in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. When it did, on Sunday, Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at Israel for the first time since the April ceasefire. Israel then struck Iran, with which Trump has been engaged in weeks of high-stakes negotiations.
The fighting has since died down, but the differences between the two leaders are likely to persist.
That's because Trump, whose party faces elections later this year, wants to wind down an unpopular war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ease gas prices. Iran says a full ceasefire in Lebanon is key to any deal.
Netanyahu, who also faces elections this year, is under pressure to stop Hezbollah's attacks and prove that he is winning the war with Iran and its allies. He also .

Trump, Netanyahu, Donald Trump-Netanyahu

Trump had publicly warned Israel not to strike Beirut in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. When it did, on Sunday, Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at Israel

Israel and Iran appeared to back away from further strikes Monday, hours after they traded fire for the first time since the US agreed to a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago. Both countries warned that they were ready to launch retaliatory attacks if provoked.
The renewed hostilities raised concerns that the Middle East could be plunged back into a full-scale war.
Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven energy prices up around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict.
The new attacks prompted US President Donald Trump to call for an immediate stop to fighting between Israel and Iran.
Soon after, the Iranian military's joint command issued a statement that said it was halting offensive strikes. The statement said further "aggression and hostile acts" by Israel and its supporters, including in ..

An Israeli air-defence missile flies in the sky over Israel, as seen from Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

Netanyahu appears to have openly defied Trump with the strike Sunday in Beirut and subsequent attacks in Iran while Trump has voiced his displeasure with Israel, including belittling Netanyahu

Key global market indices around the world have plummeted; India alone has lost trillions in investor wealth with a steadily weakening rupee

ship, vessel, tanker, Hormuz

The US will work with Iran to retrieve and destroy its highly enriched uranium if it is able to cut a deal with Tehran to end the three-month-old war between the countries, US President Donald Trump said.
Trump, in an interview to NBC News' 'Meet the Press' programme, said that in the absence of an agreement, he will further degrade the Iranian military to the point that American forces can safely collect the fissile material on their own.
"If we make a deal that now we're friendly, we'll all go together. It'll be our equipment. We'll take it out and destroy it, whether it's on-site or whether we take it off-site," Trump said.
The US President said he was "very close" to signing the deal with Iran, but was pushing them to go further and commit to completely abandon their nuclear ambitions.
"Now, if we don't make a deal, then we're going to take them out militarily very harshly. And we'll wait till we do that before we go, in which case we'll have safety either way," he said.
Trump

Donald Trump,Trump

Trump says the US would help eliminate Iran's enriched uranium under a peace deal, while warning of harsher military action if negotiations fail

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

'This is the need of the hour'

Sustaining the costly offensive

A silver lining

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

Memes at war

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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

Naval mines have re-emerged as potent instruments of modern conflict but India is not immune to their destructive power

INS Kozhikode (M-71), a Karwar-class minesweeper commissioned in 1988, carrying out mine-laying and clearing operations before it was decommissioned in 2019 (Photo: Indian Navy)

Exploding sleeper cells of the sea

Building a pipeline of world-class defence technologies needs greater coherence among the military, academia and industry

Missing synergy

What India's Integrated Rocket Force would mean for deterrence, doctrine, and defence

Representational image (Photo: Shutterstock)

A long shot

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.

The geoeconomic battlefield

'This is the need of the hour'

Sustaining the costly offensive

A silver lining

Memes at war

Harsh V Pant

Ashok K Kantha

Harsh V Pant

Jan Luykx

Shyam Saran

Jan Luykx

Ashok K Kantha

C Uday Bhaskar

SPOTLIGHT

Analysis

Anshuman Tripathi

Harinder Singh

Multimedia

Key Projects

Market radar: April 22, 2026 to May 22, 2026

DPSUs post profits; R&D and exports remain weak

Indian aerospace exports surge amid a slump in US shipments

A David-Goliath clash

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