The UH-M programme is being pursued by HAL’s Rotary Wing Research and Design Centre in Bengaluru. It builds on technologies developed through HAL’s indigenous helicopter programmes while incorporating structural, avionics and shipborne features specifically required for maritime operations.
Robert Toth, Vice President for Strategy and Business Development for Air Mobility and Maritime Missions at Lockheed Martin, said in September 2026 that the company was prepared for the complete transfer of technologies associated with certain parts of the Super Hercules if the C-130J succeeds in the Indian competition.
The Heavy Drop System–20T Type V is designed for the aerial delivery of military equipment and armoured platforms weighing up to 20 tonnes from transport aircraft including the C-130J and C-17.
The announcement marks an important change in the programme’s status. DRDO has already completed the core technology-demonstration phase for the 30 kW system, and the focus is now shifting towards converting the prototype into a production-standard weapon that can be manufactured by Indian industry.
KAL has been developed as a long-range one-way attack drone intended for missions where the aircraft flies towards a designated target and does not return to its launch point. IG Defence has positioned the platform for deep-strike roles in which range, endurance, payload carriage and autonomous navigation are more important than recovery.
AKASHTEER is the Indian Army’s indigenous Automated Air Defence Control and Reporting System, developed to connect surveillance sensors, command centres and ground-based air-defence weapons within a common operational network.
The figure represents a 15.6% increase over FY2024–25, when defence production stood at approximately ₹1.54 lakh crore. Compared with FY2020–21, when production was valued at ₹84,643 crore, the sector has more than doubled in five years.
Neither the number of systems supplied nor the contract value, configuration or delivery schedule has been publicly disclosed. The precise Akash variant supplied to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan has also not been identified in the information currently available.
The contract was signed in New Delhi on September 21, 2026, in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh. The procurement marks another step in the indigenisation of critical systems used across India’s armoured vehicle fleet.
The Ministry of Defence officially describes Agni-5 as a three-stage solid-fuel surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of striking targets at ranges of up to 5,000 kilometres with a high degree of accuracy. Its combination of long range, road mobility, canisterised launch and sophisticated guidance has already made it a central component of India’s strategic missile capability.
