Modi: India aims to more than triple defence exports

(Patria) - India wants to more than triple its annual defence exports to $5 billion by 2024 or 2025, from the current $1.5 billion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the opening of the Aero India show, Reuters reports.

The country aims to sign defence deals worth 750 billion rupees ($9 billion) at the five-day event, while its airlines are trying to finalise jetliner purchases to meet civil aviation demand and push global aircraft manufacturers to produce more locally, mostly through partnerships.

“Today, India is not just a market for defence companies, it is a potential partner,” Modi said in his speech at the exhibition.

“I call on the Indian private sector to invest more and more in the country’s defence sector,” he added.

India, one of the world's largest importers of defence equipment for decades, is now exporting to 75 countries, he added. Recent Indian exports include Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) Dhruv helicopters to the Philippines, Mauritius and Ecuador, and the Russian-Indian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace supersonic cruise missile to the Philippines. HAL has also offered its Tejas light combat aircraft to Malaysia.

Exhibitors at the aforementioned fair include Airbus, Boeing, Dassault Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industry, BrahMos, SAAB, Rolls Royce, Larsen & Toubro, HAL and Bharat Electronics Ltd.

Indian airlines are also expanding, with Tata Group's Air India expected to announce a potentially record deal to buy nearly 500 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, worth more than $100 billion.