Armed Forces of India

The Armed Forces of India is a military organization of India designed to defend the Republic, protect the freedom and independence of the state, one of the most important instruments of political power. For 2018, it ranks fourth in the ranking of the strongest armies in the world after the Armed Forces of the USA, Russia and China. The country possesses nuclear weapons.

Nuclear arsenal

2023: Among the countries with the largest reserves of raw materials for nuclear weapons

In Russia and the United States - the largest reserves of raw materials for nuclear weapons
For China, data on traces of the presence of highly enriched uranium and plutonium in the country
As of
March 2023

2021

The number of nuclear warheads for May 2021

History

2024

Acquisition of the Russian radar system "Voronezh" for $4 billion

In early December 2024, it became known that India plans to conclude an agreement with Russia on the purchase of an improved Voronezh early warning radar system with a range of more than 8,000 km. The amount of the transaction is estimated at $4 billion. Read more here

India successfully tests its first hypersonic missile with 1,500km range

India successfully tested a long-range hypersonic missile in mid-November 2024. The missile, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and its partners, is designed to deliver payloads over 930 miles (1500km), according to a government statement. Read more here.

2023: Defence spending - 1.9% of GDP

Estimating some countries' defense costs as a share of their GDP in 2023

2022

The largest buyer of Russian weapons

At the end of 2022, Russia remains the main source of weapons for India, even though the country has sharply reduced purchases.

"Russia was the largest arms supplier to India in both 2013-17 and 2018-22, but its share of total Indian arms imports decreased from 64% to 45%," the report said.

France bypassed the United States and became the second largest supplier of weapons to India in 2018-22, exports grew by 489%, which led to a decrease in purchases from Russia.

The largest buyers of Russian weapons from 2017 to 2021.

2nd place in the list of the largest importers of weapons

Data for 2022

A quarter of the annual defense budget came from R&D

At the end of fiscal 2022, 25% of India's defense budget was for the first time directed to research and development (R&D). This was announced on May 25, 2023 by the Minister of Defense of the country Rajnath Singh.

It is important to ensure that the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India (DRDO) works closely with academia to address the complex challenges facing the state, he said. Such a partnership "will help make India a leading country in the field of defense technology." The minister said as the interaction between DRDO and the institutions developed, the potential of many new R&D areas that would benefit the country was revealed.

25% of India's defense budget was spent on R&D for the first time

If we do not conduct research, we will not be able to introduce new technologies - it is R&D that helps turn ordinary materials into valuable resources. This is a key factor in the development of civilizations at all times, "Singh said.

Cooperation between DRDO and academia, as noted, is beneficial to both parties. Thus, the Defense Research and Development Organization receives highly qualified experts from leading institutes throughout the country. In turn, scientific teams can count on financial support from the authorities in the implementation of promising projects.

The Defence Minister also urged industry leaders to come up with cutting-edge solutions to help India evolve from a "mimic" to a "leader" in innovative technology. This is necessary so that the country can effectively solve the problems associated with the current situation in the field of global security. Countries around the world are focusing on technological advances in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and genetics, Singh said.^[1]

2021: Defence spending - 2.66% of GDP

Data for 2021

2019: Armaments

As of February 2019

2018: Military budget - 2.4% of GDP

Military budget in% of GDP, 2018:

• 8.8% Saudi Arabia
• 4.3% Israel
• 3.9% Russia
• 3.2% United States
• 2.5% Turkey
• 2.4% India
• 2.3% France
• 1.9% Australia
• 1.9% China
• 1.8% United Kingdom
• 1.3% Canada
• 1.2% Germany

(SIPRI)

2017

As of 2017

Notes