India’s defence exports reached a record ₹38,424 crore in FY 2025-26 (up nearly 63%), reflecting a shift from heavy import dependence toward domestic production and overseas sales.

Odisha-based startup IG Defence’s Kal, a low-cost, long-range one-way attack (loitering) drone with roughly 1,000 km range, is attracting interest from several Gulf countries and could become a notable new export product if approvals are secured.

Alongside established successes such as BrahMos, rising private and public-sector sales to more than 80 countries support India’s ambition to become a reliable supplier of home-grown defence systems, with a target of ₹50,000 crore in exports by 2029-30.

For many years, India carried a tag it was not proud of — one of the world’s biggest buyers of weapons made in other countries. That picture is slowly changing. Today, India is not only building its own defence equipment but also selling it abroad. In April, the Defence Ministry announced that defence exports touched a record ₹38,424 crore in the financial year 2025-26, which is 62.66 per cent higher than the year before. Behind this jump lies a simple idea: make it at home, and then sell it to friends abroad.

One product that could carry this story forward is the Kal drone, developed by IG Defence, a young defence startup based in Odisha. Kal is described as a Shahed-class, long-range, one-way attack drone. In plain words, it........

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