Defence exports of a country go beyond the obvious foreign trade advantages and work to support the government in unique long-term ways. Take the example of two key regions of defence exports: Europe and the United States (US). In the case of European governments, the exports are primarily to maintain a desired level of defence production capability because the domestic markets are not large enough to absorb the full range of weapon systems anticipated for national security.

In the case of the US, defence exports are supported to primarily meet national security intentions and steer foreign policy objectives. The form and purpose of exports pursued by either of the two major defence export regions may differ but a common aspect is that defence exports are vital to nourish the industrial capability and cultivate technological edge of any country. In that context, the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during DefExpo 2020 at Lucknow of targeting USD5 billion of defence exports by 2025 can be read as a progressive milestone.

That year the strategy for defence exports was formulated by incorporating mechanisms to streamline exports by charting a process for export authorisation and the setting up of Defence Export Steering Committee. This year has been a game changer as the government has issued draft Defence Production & Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) which would be the guiding document to provide a focussed and structured thrust to defence production capabilities in India for self-reliance and exports. What is interesting is that during the same period, India, on an international level, achieved major milestones by attaining memberships to three out of the four Multilateral Export Control Regimes (MECR) which are important for arms and weapons export. This was done by attaining member status to Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016, Wassenaar Arrangement in 2017 and Australia Group in 2018 which leaves only the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) which has the backing of several members including the continued support of France.