India’s defence imports have been tilting towards the US

India trade deal to benefit defence

• India's high-tech defense imports from the US have increased.
• US now supplies 13% of India's defense imports, up from 3% in 2007-2012.
• Recent trade deals and agreements have boosted US-India defence cooperation.

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India’s growing reliance on the US for defence imports, particularly in high-tech segments such as sensors, engines and missiles, highlights a quieter but important shift underway in New Delhi’s procurement strategy, a Moneycontrol analysis shows.

The recently announced India-US trade deal is expected to help Indian exporters claw back market share in the US, but it will also open India’s market wider to American goods. Defence is likely to be among the most consequential of these openings. The $500 billion trade and investment commitment embedded in the deal is expected to give a fresh boost to US arms exports to India, reinforcing a trend that has been building steadily over the past two decades.

In the late 2000s, India’s defence imports were overwhelmingly dominated by Russia. Between 2007 and 2012, Russia accounted for nearly four-fifths of India’s defence imports, while the US had only a marginal presence, with a share of just under 3 percent. That picture has since changed markedly. By the 2013–2018 period, the US share climbed to nearly 15 percent and although it has moderated slightly in the most recent phase, Washington still accounts for around 13 percent of India’s defence imports in 2019–2024. Over the same period, Russia’s share has fallen sharply to 36 percent, while France—boosted by Rafale aircraft deliveries—has emerged as another major supplier.

The shift is even more pronounced at the category level. In aircraft imports, the US share has risen from less than 4 percent in 2007-2012 to nearly 23 percent in 2019-2024. In engines, the US now accounts for over a quarter of India’s imports, up from about 11 percent in the late 2000s. American suppliers have also gained ground in missiles and advanced sensors, areas where technology access and interoperability matter as much as price.

This tilt towards US systems has been shaped by both strategic and political factors. US President Donald Trump has consistently pushed for higher defence exports, and India was a major beneficiary during his first term. In April 2019, Washington cleared the sale of 24 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters worth about $2.6 billion, followed in February 2020 by approval for the Integrated Air Defence Weapon System, estimated at $1.9 billion.

Crucially, two of India’s four foundational defence agreements with the US—COMCASA and BECA—were also signed during the Trump years, significantly deepening interoperability and intelligence sharing. India was additionally elevated to Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 status, granting access to sensitive technologies previously reserved for close US allies.

As the India–US trade relationship deepens further, defence imports are likely to remain a key channel through which trade balances adjust.