India’s defence relationship with the United States is seen extending beyonf the purchase of military platforms, with Indian companies emerging as suppliers of critical components for global production progrmmes of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, according to Kotak institutional Equities.
The shift represents a evolution in India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem. Instead of merely importing aircraft and helicopters from global defence majors, Indian companies are increasingly supplying components and sub-systems that feed into their international production networks.
According to Kotak’s July 2026 sector report on Indian aerospace and defence, the US has become India’s largest defence export market, accounting for roughly half of India’s defence exports. Between FY2019 and FY2024, Indian companies exported around $2.8 billion worth of defence goods to the US.
The major part of this trade involves components and sub-systems rather than finished weapons platforms. The relationships span fighter aircraft, helicopters, maritime patrol aircraft and military transport platforms, with companies including Tata, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Dynamatic Technologies, Rossell Techsys and SASMOS HET supplying products to programmes operated by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Tata, HAL and BEL: Who supplies what?
According to Kotak’s report, several Indian companies have become part of Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s global supply chains. On the Boeing side, BEL supplies identify-friend-or-foe (IFF) and speech secrecy systems for the P-8I maritime patrol aircraft.
The P-8I is operated by the Indian Navy and is based on Boeing’s P-8 maritime patrol aircraft platform. Meanwhile, Dynamatic Technologies has been a Boeing partner since 2015. It supplies aft pylons and cargo ramps for the Chinook heavy-lift helicopter, with more than 75 sets delivered, according to Kotak.
Its relationship with Boeing extends further. Dynamatic is the sole global supplier of power and mission cabinets for the P-8 Poseidon, with more than 1,000 sets delivered, the brokerage said.
HAL supplies gun bay doors for the F/A-18 Super Hornet, while Bengaluru-based Rossell Techsys, a Boeing supplier since 2013, has delivered more than 100,000 wire harnesses and electrical panels for programmes including the Apache, Osprey, Chinook, F-15 and F/A-18.
Another Indian supplier, SASMOS HET, which became a Boeing partner in 2023, supplies electrical panels, sensors and wire bundles for the F-15 and F/A-18 Super Hornet.
Tata’s Boeing relationship
Tata has also established a major manufacturing relationship with Boeing through Tata Boeing Aerospace, a joint venture established in 2016. The venture manufactures fuselage and secondary structures for the Apache helicopter and also supplies components for Boeing’s commercial 747 programme globally, according to Kotak.
Consequently, the Apache programme has created a manufacturing ecosystem in India that extends beyond supplying aircraft for the Indian armed forces.
Tata’s role in Lockheed Martin’s global programmes
Indian manufacturing is also embedded in Lockheed Martin’s international production network. In its report, Kotak said that Tata is the single global source for empennages, or tail assemblies, for the C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft.
The Tata-Lockheed Martin relationship also extends to the S-92 helicopter, for which Tata is the world’s sole producer of cabin components, according to the report.
These are not components produced exclusively for aircraft operated by India. Instead, Indian facilities are supplying parts for programmes whose platforms are used by customers around the world.
How India’s aircraft purchases helped create this supply chain
The emergence of these relationships can be traced partly to India’s defence offset policy, which was introduced in 2005. The policy required foreign defence vendors winning large Indian contracts to reinvest a portion of the contract value into India’s domestic defence industry. The initial requirement was set at 30 per cent for qualifying contracts.
According to Kotak, several major defence purchases by India during the early 2010s subsequently helped establish manufacturing relationships that have expanded into global supply chains.
2010: C-130J Super Hercules
India’s 2010 purchase of Lockheed Martin’s C-130J Super Hercules resulted in the creation of a Tata-Lockheed joint venture in Hyderabad. The facility now manufactures C-130J empennages for Lockheed Martin’s global fleet. Kotak reported that the facility had delivered more than 250 tail assemblies by 2025.
2011: Boeing C-17 deal
India’s 2011 acquisition of Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster III involved an offset package worth roughly $1 billion, which Kotak describes as the largest such arrangement at the time. The deal helped bring Indian suppliers into airframe-parts manufacturing and also supported the establishment of a simulator and training centre in India.
2015: Apache helicopter deal
India’s 2015 AH-64E Apache helicopter deal with Boeing subsequently led to the creation of Tata Boeing Aerospace. The joint venture became the sole global source for Apache fuselages, according to Kotak. The 300th Apache fuselage was produced in 2024, with Indian MSMEs accounting for roughly 90 per cent of the fuselage’s sourcing, based on Kotak’s estimate.
The evolution illustrates how an Indian defence procurement programme can create manufacturing capabilities that eventually serve international customers.
From Indian procurement to global supply chains
The more significant development is that several Indian companies have moved beyond supplying India’s armed forces and into global aerospace and defence manufacturing. The Tata-Lockheed facility’s C-130J empennages, Tata’s S-92 cabin components and Dynamatic Technologies’ P-8 cabinets are examples cited by Kotak where Indian manufacturing capabilities serve international programmes.
Rather than measuring India’s role solely through the export of complete defence platforms, the country’s growing participation in global supply chains allows Indian companies to earn export revenues through components, structures, avionics, electrical systems and other sub-systems.
It also creates a pathway for Indian manufacturers to build capabilities around platforms designed by some of the world’s largest defence companies.
The next phase: Europe
Kotak said a similar pattern is now emerging in India’s defence relationships with European companies. The rearmament push following the Russia-Ukraine war has created opportunities for Indian companies to participate in European defence supply chains.
Indian companies including Reliance, Tata, Bharat Forge and Mahindra have entered partnerships involving companies such as Dassault, Airbus and Rheinmetall, covering areas including artillery shells, C295 transport aircraft components and jet-engine parts.
The developments indicate that the industrial model that helped connect Indian companies to US defence programmes is increasingly being replicated elsewhere.