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Predicted air defence spending boom opens doors to Indian industry

3rd April 2026 - 11:35 GMT | by Neelam Mathews in New Delhi, India

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Demand for the PAC-3 missile has surged in recent years. (Photo: Boeing)

Recent conflicts have created a surge in interceptor demand worldwide while exposing potential supply chain challenges, positioning India as a cost-effective partner and scalable supplier.

Global air defence spending is surging as Iran’s recent drone and missile attacks expose gaps in low‑cost defences. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates a US$400-500 billion surge over the next five years as nations – including those outside the conflict – rush to expand layered systems and rebuild interceptor inventories.

The report confirms Europe will depend heavily on US primes for near‑term interceptor supply until domestic capacity is expanded.

Lockheed Martin, RTX, Rheinmetall, Rafael, Thales, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics are positioned to capture the bulk of this. Meanwhile, tier‑one and tier‑two suppliers including India and eastern European countries are rapidly scaling exports to

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