Ongoing Coverage · AMCA & Fighter Fleets · Missiles & Armour · Naval Modernisation · Atmanirbhar Bharat
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Comprehensive Analysis · 20 ReportsIndia’s Military Platforms Hub
From the AMCA’s stealth production line to the Su-30MKI’s rebirth as “Super Sukhoi,” from BrahMos exports to a warship built in record time — every major platform in India’s modernisation drive, and the industrial ecosystem building it. Defence, industry, and markets analysis from The Eastern Strategist.
20Reports in this Hub
₹1.78L CrFY26 Defence Production
114Rafale Jets Sought
$375MBrahMos Export Order
01
Air Power — AMCA & Fighter Fleets
7 Reports
Stealth Fighter
Countering the PLAAF’s J-20s at the LAC: Inside India’s Puttaparthi AMCA Production Hub
India’s fifth-generation fighter and its quadruplex digital architecture, built to counter China’s J-20 at the LAC.
Industrial Politics
AMCA Prototype: Private Sector vs HAL
Why HAL not leading the AMCA’s initial prototype phase reshapes the private-sector debate in Indian defence manufacturing.
Acquisition
Not Just 114 Jets: The Future Hidden Inside India’s Rafale Push
What could become India’s largest fighter acquisition, and the F4/F5 standard upgrades bundled into it.
Modernisation
Super Sukhoi: Why the Su-30MKI Gets a New Name
A new radar, electronic warfare suite and weapons interface — the upgrade programme behind the rebrand.
Diplomacy
The 2030 Stealth Void: Why Putin Is Weaponising the Su-57 India Pitch
The Kremlin’s renewed Su-57 pitch ahead of the BRICS Summit, and the stealth gap it’s designed to exploit.
Exports
Tejas Egypt Deal: Why Sarang’s El Alamein Flight Masks a Stalled Export
A striking Dhruv helicopter flypast over the Pyramids can’t hide that the Tejas Egypt export talks have stalled.
Propulsion
GE-HAL Jet Engine Deal: The Bigger Story India Cannot Ignore
The F414 engine deal is being sold as a diplomatic breakthrough — but the technology-transfer story runs deeper.
02
Land Power — Armour & Modernisation
3 Reports
Sustainment
The ₹586-Crore Silent Watch: Why MoD’s Tank APU Contract Is Really About Russian Supply Lines
A tank auxiliary-power-unit contract that reveals more about Russian supply-line dependence than about the tanks themselves.
Next-Gen Armour
Modi Slovak Visit Secures Armor Tech to Unblock India’s Delayed $7.2 Billion FRCV Fleet
How a Slovak technology transfer unblocks India’s long-delayed Future Ready Combat Vehicle programme.
Doctrine
Why Altitude, Not the Enemy, Has Been India’s Toughest Adversary Since Kargil
Twenty-five years separate the Bofors gun from the BrahMos missile — both fought the same mountain.
03
Missiles & Precision Strike
3 Reports
Private Sector
India Private Missile Manufacturing: From Nuts and Bolts to Warheads
India opens missile manufacturing to private firms — what it means for the Astra Mk2 and beyond.
Indigenisation
After Operation Sindoor, India Fast-Tracks Indigenous Production of HAMMER Precision Strike Weapons
A ₹3,200 crore bet on indigenous precision weapons, built on the BEL-Safran joint venture.
Exports
How India’s BrahMos Missile is Changing the Game in the South China Sea
A $375 million BrahMos battery now sits with the Philippine Marine Corps — and a bigger order is coming.
04
Naval Modernisation
2 Reports
Fleet Strength
Indian Navy 2026: Five Times Pakistan’s Tonnage, Third Carrier Still Pending
TES walks through the Navy’s biggest induction year on record, and what Pakistan and Germany are doing in response.
MSME Shipbuilding
Samarthak: Inside India’s Fast-Moving Warship Boom
A small trial ship’s delivery becomes the entry point for India’s fastest-ever warship production cycle.
05
Industrial Ecosystem
2 Reports
Metallurgy
The Titanium Pivot: How PTC Industries and Sovereign Metallurgy Anchor India’s Jet Engine Future
A private Lucknow foundry casting titanium for Airbus and Safran today — and for the AMCA engine tomorrow.
Production Data
Beyond the ₹1.78 Lakh Crore Milestone: Assessing the Structural Reality of India’s Defence Industrial Base
A month after the MoD’s FY2026 production figures, what the headline number obscures about structural depth.
06
Strategic Context
2 Reports
Regional Balance
From Putin’s Su-57 Offer to Project Kusha: How Operation Sindoor Is Reshaping the India-Pakistan Military Race
How a combat-tested air-defence success is accelerating acquisition decisions across the region.
Counter-Stealth
The YLC-8B Radar F-35 Stealth Threat: What Iran Revealed
A Chinese-origin radar’s real-world performance against a US F-35 — and what it implies for the AMCA’s stealth calculus.