Defence Tech Revolution: India's Path to Innovation Leadership

THE FOUNDATIONS of modern technology reveal a fascinating pattern—canned food, duct tape, microwave ovens, the internet, and virtually all modern-day electronics, trace their origins to research & development in the defence industry.

- By MAYURESH RAUT, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Seafund

This sector has consistently catalysed ground-breaking innovations and built economic superpowers—effectively birthing our current technological era.

Historical evidence supports this claim. Defence spending has a fiscal multiplier of nearly 2, meaning each rupee invested generates approximately two rupees in economic output. Interestingly, the defence spending has a ripple effect on the R&D across both public and private sector, thus presenting an opportunity to founders and VCs to back ground-breaking innovations. This is seeing further traction given India's success in Operation Sindoor, which was mounted on Made in India defence tech innovations and some of the most strategic defence imports. As India boldly works towards an Atmanirbhar Bharat, there are over 1,000 defence tech startups working across cutting-edge technological innovations to reduce India's dependency on defence imports.

Bharat Suraksha Kavach

While unmanned aerial systems dominate headlines, India's defence innovation ecosystem spans multiple high-potential segments where startups can make transformative contributions:

Advanced Land Systems

Advanced Land Systems represent significant opportunities for startups to develop critical subsystems for platforms like Dhanush Artillery, ATAGS, and Arjun tanks. Startups are pioneering autonomous ground vehicles that can navigate difficult terrain—creating opportunities in autonomous navigation and human-machine interfaces tailored for military applications.

Maritime Defence Technologies

Maritime Defence Technologies address unique challenges in underwater reconnaissance and harbour security. Many innovators are developing underwater and surface solutions for naval operations, perfectly aligned with India's expanding maritime security requirements.

AI and Battlefield Management Systems