India Opens Strategic Missile Manufacturing to Private Sector

The Ministry of Defence is opening India's strategic missile sector to private companies for the first time to increase production capacity and reduce delivery timelines. This policy shift follows the inability of state-owned Bharat Dynamics Limited to satisfy growing requirements from the Indian armed forces and foreign buyers.

The ministry is preparing a Request for Proposal (RFP) to invite private conglomerates to manufacture the Astra Mark 2, a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation with a strike range of 180-200 kilometers. Major firms expected to bid include the Tata Group, Adani Defence, Mahindra Group, Bharat Forge, and ICOMM.

This initiative is part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat program to strengthen the domestic industrial base and deterrence. The transition is driven by significant international interest, including a $630 million agreement with Indonesia for Astra and BrahMos systems. The government also intends to extend this private-sector manufacturing model to other systems, such as the Pralay tactical ballistic missile, which has a 500-kilometer range.