11 Largest Defence Equipment Manufacturers in India

With the growth in the Indian economy, there has been a lot of modernization works that took place recently to improvise the defense equipment. India spends around 130B$ on this to promise good quality.

The total expenditure of defence is about 15.1% of the central government budget and the sector contributes about 2.9% to the national gross domestic product value of the country.

Undertaken by the ministry of defence, it witnessing constant up-gradation for a very long time.

There are many governmental and non-governmental defence equipment manufacturers in India that take care of manufacturing these equipments.

Top 11 Defence Equipment Manufacturers in India

Rank	Company Name	Year
1	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited	1940
2	DRDO	1958
3	TATA Advanced system	2007
4	Bharat Dynamics	1970
5	Mazagon Dock Limited	1934
6	Mishra Dhatu Nigam ltd	1973
7	Bharat Electronics	1954
8	Ordnance factory board	1979
9	Cochin shipyard limited	1972
10	SSS defence	2017
11	Larson and Toubro Ltd	1938

List of Defence Equipment Manufacturers in India

Here’s the list of Defence Equipment Manufacturers in India based on revenue, operating income, assets and more.

1. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka, and is owned by the Government of India. The most leading defence equipment manufacturers in India, It has a total employee count ranging up to 29000 with specialists in Avionics and electronics.

The company has several manufacturing units including HF-24, Marut (34), and Dhruv (35). It also has been supplying ISRO with fuel propellants for a long time now. Some of the most reputable projects include PSLV and GSLV.

It is owned by the Ministry of Defence. The total revenue of the company is around 21,522 C with an operating income of 3,960 C. The total asset value is about 53,120 C INR. The company is amongst the top 5 defence equipment manufacturers in India and also among the top 30 in the World.

2. Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)

Established under the ministry of defence, DRDO is the best defence equipment manufacturers in India in functioning. With an annual budget of about 1,137.5 C INR, the company has a total of 30,000 with 5,000 scientists.

 It has over 52 actively functioning labs for aeronautics, armaments, and electronics in Kerala, Pune etc, and many regional offices. Their annual production capacity is around 50,000 DWT in 2019.

Its first commissioned project was in 1960. Apart from these, the company also manufactures Explosives and detection kits. The company has many institutions under it. Some of the famous projects include Abhyas, AURA, Fluffy, etc.

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3. TATA Advanced Systems

TATA Advance Systems Ltd is a subsidiary of the famous TATA group. It is completely dedicated to the Indian security forces. It joined hands with Sikorsky and made a helicopter for Domestic purposes in India.

They also established an aerospace and a Defence unit in 2018. The company has about 3000 employees and used CAD and CAM software. The operating revenue is around 500 C INR from the reports published in 2020.

TATA advanced systems are involved in the manufacture of special steel air trunks and submarines. Their aerospace unit also has navigation points spread around the country. The land system has many including surface-to-surface missiles.

 The book net worth has increased by 59 % and there is an increase in EBITDA by 689% in the previous year.

4. Bharat Dynamics

Bharat Dynamics is among the leading manufacturers of ammunition and missiles in the country. The IGMDP gave the opportunity to the company to manufacture weapons of a wide range. It also commissioned India’s first successful state-of-the-art surface-to-the-surface missile Prithvi.

The total revenue of the company is about 3,095.20C with an operating income of 2,281 C. The total assets value is about 5,486 C. The recorded employee count as of 2019 is 3,030. The company’s tanks and fuel propellants have gained a reputation as irreplaceable in the industry. Their main goal is to manufacture products with standards to meet global needs.

Some of the most prominent works are Agni, Akash, MILAN, and Konkurs. They manufacture a wide range of missile tanks and fuel containers for the Indian armed force and are also respected widely across the globe.

5. Mazagon Dock Limited

Mazagon Dock Limited is also called the ship builder to the nation. It is a shipyard under the control of the Ministry of Defence. Involved in the construction of warships and submarines, it has the allowance to use CAD/CAM software.

They manufacture ships and vessels up to 30,000 DWT. Along with vast on-shore projects, there are many other commercials offshore projects also. Many navel projects have also been taken under their governance.

The net income is about 519.4C INR with a total asset value of 20,402C INR. The total number of employees is 8,790 with an operating income of 830.78C. They are actively indulged in many naval projects including ship and submarine building.

6. Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited

MIDHANI manufactures large quantities of armor steel for weapon systems which are also used in AK47. They are leading producers of Patka and bulletproof protection vests. With the total revenue being about 749.31 C, the employee count is approximately 800.

Apart from weaponry, they also have welding and biomedical implant plants. Some of the best of their products include welding tools, Nickel-titanium alloys, and bulletproof protection vests.

It also manufactures special steel and has the reputation of being the only company to manufacture Nickel alloys in India. The small arms and other weapons also find use in Indian warfare orientations.

7. Bharat Electronics Limited

BEL is an aerospace and defence company owned by the Government of India. Along with 9 factories, it has many regional offices spread around in the country. It manufactures electronic products for the Indian Armed forces. They are excellent manufacturers of defense communication units with a good technological base.

It is the first company to set up a firm in New York for the procurement of materials. After spreading its control over 7 units, it set a naval unit to commission naval projects. The total number of employees as of 2019 is 9,000 with a total asset value of 20,464 C.

The operating income of the company is about 2,479C with its total equity value of about 9081C.

8. Ordnance Factory Board Limited

Ordnance Factory Board Ltd. is a government agency under the control of the Ministry of defence, it manufactures products for land, air and sea systems. 18 march is celebrated as Ordnance factory Day in the country due to its determined contribution to the society.

It is also one of the top 35 defense equipment manufacturers in the world. OFB has around 9 training institutes along with more than 30 factories carrying its excellence for centuries.

It established a gun powder factory following the Dutch footsteps in the 1,700s. After the corporatization of its units, the company increased the units of production. There are many factories running under OFB including an ammunition factory in Pune, a machine tool prototype factory in Mumbai, and a gun and shell factory in Kolkata.

9. Cochin Shipyard Limited

Cochin Shipyard is India’s largest shipbuilding and maintaining company taking care of naval projects. It is a part of maritime activities in the port of Kochi. The first ship of Kerala was manufactured by CSL and was names Rani Padmini.

The shipyard is also involved in the building of 6,30,000 tons DWT bulk carriers for the clipper group of the Bahamas. They offer ship manufacturing, designing, and repairing facilities in all their units along with avionics and electronics.

The total revenue of the company is about 3,699 C with an operating income of 908.02 C INR. With about 1,800 employees, their total asset and equity values are 6,404 C and 3,731 C respectively.

10. SSS Defence Limited

Stump, Schuele, and Somappa defense is a group that is specialized in the aerospace sector. It is a subsidiary of SSS springs. They produce large amounts of firearms and weapons for the Indian armed force. The group has developed two sniper files for experimentation purposes.

It is also expected to become the second small arms manufacturing company that would have the facility to produce over 80,000 arms per year. Also, they are planning to expand their sectors before the year 2021.

About 20C has been invested by SSSD in R and D. The company’s main focus is to improve small arms production in the country.

11. Larson and Toubro Ltd

L&T has many units working under it along with the defense unit. The company uses C4ISR systems and sensors for functioning. Their other domains of interest include engineering, construction, etc, their offerings include naval platforms, land systems, missiles, and aerospace projects.

Large amount of weapon launchers, artillery systems, armored systems and engineering systems come under their landscape projects. Missile projects include unmanned aerial projects.

They have several specialized infrastructure facilities to promote good quality products and maintaining systems under them. The group’s total revenue is about 1,47,813 C with an operating income of 13,431C. Their total asset value and total equity value are 3,08,140 C and 66,723 C respectively.

Final Thoughts on Defence Equipment Manufacturers in India

Many companies are there in the country for manufacturing and maintaining defence related equipments and projects. There are many missiles and submarines successfully set and started by them that have contributed to the country’s development as well.

Although companies have different values and sub-values of income and expenses, the order of their growth and development has resulted in their position among the best.

Also read: List of Automobile Companies in India (Top 12) in 2021