India’s Arms Indigenization Quest for Self-Reliance / New Delhi Sticks to Its ‘All-Alignment’ Guns Even after Iran Warship Attack

By Michinobu Yanagisawa / Yomiuri Research Institute Senior Research Fellow

6:00 JST, April 23, 2026

India is steadily beefing up its military capabilities as the world’s most populous nation grows up economically, its regional rival China surges ahead and the international order fractures. The South Asian giant is now aiming to indigenize its weapons — for which it has long been dependent on Russia — and boost defense equipment exports. This is the first installment in a five-part series on India’s bid to accelerate its “all-alignment” strategy for self-reliance by enhancing domestic arms production.

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VISAKHAPATNAM, India — The reflected sunlight from the flight deck was so bright that even the bow of the huge vessel I was aboard looked blurry. I and other journalists had been allowed onto the INS Vikrant, India’s first domestically built aircraft carrier, off the naval port city of Visakhapatnam in eastern India on Feb. 19.

Commissioned in 2022 at 262 meters long, 62 meters wide and with a crew of about 1,700 personnel, the carrier is a symbol of India’s military buildup and the indigenization of its weapons. “We are very proud of the aircraft carrier. It wouldn’t need permission [from foreign nations] to fix parts of the vessel to rapidly meet new requirements,” said a navy officer on board.

India now operates two aircraft carriers; the other is the INS Vikramaditya, which was originally purchased from Russia and entered service in 2013. Although its carrier-based fighters are Russian MiG-29s, the Vikrant was designed in India with 76% indigenous components.

In the same waters on the previous day, Feb. 18, the Vikrant participated in the Indian Navy’s International Fleet Review, a maritime parade of both Indian and friendly foreign nations’ vessels held to boost cooperation and confidence.

Calls both Japan, Russia as friends

Among the approximately 20 foreign vessels were JS Yudachi of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, ships from South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including Myanmar, which along with fellow participants Russia and Iran are at odds with Western nations. The fleet review showcased India’s all-alignment diplomacy, although ships were not present from Pakistan and China, which India has historical tensions with.

Shortly after the Israeli-U.S. attacks on Iran began on Feb. 28, a military source stressed India’s stance of calling for restraint on both sides, based on its multi-aligned diplomatic policy. “We are in a unique position. We are friends with Iran. We are friends with [the] U.S.A.,” the source said.

The war, however, soon demonstrated that the all-alignment policy relies on a highly delicate balance. The IRIS Dena — an Iran frigate that participated in the fleet review — was struck by a U.S. submarine and sank off Sri Lanka in early March on its way back to the Islamic republic. As the review’s host nation, India found itself in an apparent face-losing situation.

Even so, India has stuck to its all-alignment principles by striving to strike a balance between the United States and Iran. It has avoided criticizing the United States for its military attacks against Iran and was a cosponsor of the United Nations Security Council Resolution adopted in March to condemn Iran’s attacks against its neighbors. At the same time, India granted safe harbor to another Iranian military vessel and engaged diplomatically with Tehran to let Indian tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Evolution from nonalignment

India’s all-alignment stance has evolved from its original nonalignment policy held since its early days of independence. The country sought cooperation with China, as the two regional powers had leadership roles in the nonaligned Third World, rejecting the hegemonies of both the United States and the Soviet Union. After India’s defeat by China in the 1962 Sino-Indian War, however, New Delhi tilted toward and received enormous military assistance from Moscow in order to deter China and its ally Pakistan.

The all-alignment policy emerged after the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, as India needed better relations with the West, but the policy strongly retained the original nonalignment philosophy of refusing any military alliances with foreign nations. This unique stance of denying military alliances while pursuing multidirectional engagements is India’s cornerstone strategy to ensure its self-reliance. As no foreign nation provides security, this stance requires India to have its own robust military capabilities.

All-alignment is not easy for India to execute by itself or an easy pill to swallow for U.S.-allied Japan. India is cautious about any expansion of the Quad — its diplomatic partnership with Japan, the United States and Australia — to military spheres to deter China. It also avoids criticizing the Russian aggression against Ukraine and maintains defense ties with Moscow to build up its military capabilities.

“The Soviet Union once saved India from its isolation. We would never be able to reconsider our ties with Russia,” an Indian military source said.