India to showcase defence manufacturing prowess to global air force leaders

India is set to showcase its defence manufacturing capabilities to air force leaders from around 40 countries on the margins of Tarang Shakti, the Indian Air Force’s largest multilateral combat exercise to be held in Jodhpur from September 26 to October 12, as New Delhi steps up efforts to boost its military exports, officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday.India will showcase its indigenous aerospace and defence systems to air force leaders from around 40 countries during the Tarang Shakti exercise in Jodhpur.The visiting air force brass will be briefed at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in Bengaluru, and at the C295 production line in Vadodara, offering them a close look at India’s defence capabilities and strides in indigenous manufacturing, the officials said.The visit to Bengaluru is planned for September 29, followed by Vadodara on October 3. This comes weeks after defence minister Rajnath Singh released Raksha, a 10-year strategic roadmap for India’s defence diplomacy, outlining the country’s vision for strengthening global partnerships and driving exports.India is no longer only looking at what it can buy from the world, but also at what it can develop, manufacture and offer to others, IAF vice chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit said.“Tarang Shakti provides an opportunity for our partners to see the growing capabilities of the Indian aerospace and defence industry—our indigenous platforms, sensors, weapons, unmanned systems and technologies. For us, Atmanirbharta and international cooperation are not contradictory. They complement each other. The stronger our indigenous capability, the more meaningful our engagement with the world becomes,” Dixit added.Invitations were sent out to 65 countries to participate in the second edition of the exercise --- eight have confirmed participation with their air assets and 32 countries are coming as observers. The US, France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are bringing aircraft to Jodhpur. The observers include Brazil, Egypt, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam.India has set a target of achieving ₹50,000 crore in defence exports by 2029-30. India’s defence exports hit a record ₹38,424 crore in 2025-26, up 63% from ₹23,622 crore in the previous financial year. The hardware exported by India includes missiles, artillery guns, rockets, armoured vehicles, offshore patrol vessels, personal protective gear, radars, surveillance systems, ammunition, components, and systems/sub-systems.Defence exports are a key government priority. India recently reorganised its defence attaché network abroad to boost military exports, focusing on countries likely to buy weapons and systems from India rather than those selling military hardware to it.Several policy reforms have been ushered in by the government in the past few years to boost the Indian defence industry, including simplification of the industrial licensing procedure, removal of parts and components from the licence regime, and simplification of export authorisation. The defence ministry has also initiated reforms to streamline procedures and ease foreign market access for the Indian industry.The Department of Defence Production has undertaken a comprehensive set of reforms to simplify the defence export standard operating procedure and the Open General Export Licence (OGEL) framework.The OGEL is a standing one-time authorisation that enables eligible exporters to self-generate export authorisations for multiple consignments of specified defence items, without seeking a separate authorisation for each consignment. It provides greater flexibility while reducing repetitive procedural requirements.The conclusion of agreements in July to supply BrahMos cruise missiles and Astra beyond visual range air-to-air missiles to Indonesia’s armed forces is expected to provide fresh momentum to India’s defence export push.The development further elevates the country’s profile as a credible defence exporter. Indonesia will be the third ASEAN member state, after the Philippines and Vietnam, to acquire the BrahMos missile, which India jointly developed with Russia. It proved its lethality during last year’s conflict with Pakistan.The deal for the Astra missile marks the first export of the weapon system.