India-Made vs Leased Defence Hardware

Hardware can reach the Indian forces in three ways. It can be built in India under a foreign licence. It can be leased from another country. Or it can be designed and built in India.

What do the key terms mean?

• Licence-built: an Indian firm makes the weapon at home. It uses a foreign design and a permission called a licence.
• Leased: India rents the weapon for a fixed time. The owner stays the other country. India gives it back when the lease ends.
• Indigenous: designed and built in India. The Arihant-class submarines are an example.

Where do our three examples fit?

• The Su-30 MKI fighter is licence-built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at Nashik.
• The T-90 tank is licence-built at the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), Avadi, in Tamil Nadu.
• The Akula-class submarine is leased from Russia. It is not made in India.

Is there an everyday example?

Think of a car. Licence-built is like a local firm assembling a car to a maker’s design. Leasing is like renting a car for ten years. You drive it, but you never own it. You return it at the end.

What is the exam trap?

The trap treats “operated by India” as “made in India”. They are different things. The second INS Chakra served the Navy from 2012. It went back to Russia in 2021 when its lease ended. It was never built on Indian soil.

Read the timeline first. Then see which dates students often get wrong.

What is the timeline?

• 28 December 2000: HAL signs the General Contract with Russia’s Rosoboronexport. It covers licence manufacture of 140 Su-30 MKI aircraft.
• 2001: India signs for 310 T-90S tanks. Russia builds 124 of them.
• 7 January 2004: the first T-90S “Bhishma” rolls out at HVF Avadi.
• 17 November 2004: the first Su-30 MKI assembled at HAL Nashik rolls out.
• March 2019: India signs a $3 billion, ten-year lease for an Akula-class submarine, Chakra III.
• 12 December 2024: the Defence Ministry signs for 12 more Su-30 MKIs.
• 3 April 2026: INS Aridhaman, a third Indian-built Arihant-class submarine, is commissioned.
• 22 May 2026: AVNL delivers the 1,000th T-90 tank.
• 2028: delivery of Chakra III is now due.

Which dates do students often get wrong?

• First India-built Su-30 MKI: many notes say 2005. PIB’s year-end review dates the roll-out to 17 November 2004. GlobalSecurity says the Air Force inducted that first jet in March 2005.
• First Indian-assembled T-90: many notes say 2009. PIB and GlobalSecurity date it to January 2004. Reports call 2009 the year of the first tank with Indian-made parts.
• The T-90 licence: the 2001 deal was a contract for 310 tanks. Sources disagree on when the licence for 1,000 tanks began, so no year is given here.
• The Akula lease: the 2019 deal is for Chakra III. Carnegie India’s April 2026 report says it is not yet in service.

The Su-30 MKI is a Russian-designed fighter. HAL builds it in India under licence. HAL is India’s state-owned aircraft maker. The design stays Russian, so the jet is licence-built, not Indian-designed.

What did the 2000 contract say?

HAL signed a General Contract with Rosoboronexport on 28 December 2000. It was for licence manufacture of 140 aircraft. Russia would supply licence documents, tools and training for Indian engineers.

GlobalSecurity says the deal was called a “Deep License”. It combined licence production with technology transfer. In December 2003 the government said the licence manufacture was sanctioned at about US$4,809 million. That is Rs 22,122.78 crore at 2000 prices.

How did the four phases work?

A knocked-down kit is a set of parts shipped for assembly. The plan ran in four phases.

• Phase one: complete jets are shipped to India and reassembled.
• Phase two: jets are made from semi-knocked-down kits.
• Phase three: jets are made from completely knocked-down sets, plus Indian-made aggregates.
• Phase four: HAL makes parts from local raw materials. GlobalSecurity says locally made systems reach upwards of 90%.

When did the first jet come out?

PIB’s year-end review says the first Su-30 MKI assembled at HAL, Ozhar near Nashik, rolled out on 17 November 2004. It was the first of 140 aircraft planned for India. GlobalSecurity adds that the Air Force inducted it in March 2005.

How many has HAL built?

Business Today says HAL built 222 Su-30 MKIs under licence. Counts of jets built differ between reports. Do not mix counts from different sources in one answer.

The first big contract has ended. A fresh order came in December 2024.

What did the December 2024 contract say?

On 12 December 2024 the Defence Ministry signed a contract with HAL for 12 Su-30 MKIs. PIB gives the cost as about Rs 13,500 crore, including taxes and duties. The jets are to be made at HAL’s Nashik division. PIB says they would have an indigenous content of 62.6%.

Business Today adds that the jets replace aircraft lost in accidents. Its report quotes a Rs 11,000 crore contract and “more than 50%” content. PIB’s own figures are the safer ones to learn.

Has production restarted?

The contract for 12 more jets came in December 2024. The restart of production is reported for 2026.

Business Today reported on 10 August 2026 that HAL is restarting production at Nashik. It cites The Economic Times. The first jet is expected in 2027-28. All 12 are due by 2029. As of 8 October 2026 these are plans, not deliveries.

What about an upgrade?

The same report says an upgrade of the existing fleet is planned. It is estimated at Rs 60,000 crore and has two phases. The first covers avionics and radars. The second covers flight control systems. This is a proposal from one report.

What should you remember?

• The 62.6% figure belongs to the 12 new jets. It does not describe the old fleet.
• No official content figure was found for the older jets.
• Contract: December 2024. Restart reported for 2026. First delivery 2027-28.

The T-90 is a Russian-designed main battle tank. India’s first tanks came as kits. Later tanks used more Indian parts.

What did the 2001 contract cover?

India signed in 2001 for 310 T-90S tanks. GlobalSecurity puts the deal at $700 million. Russia would deliver 124 tanks. The other 186 would be assembled at HVF Avadi, near Chennai, from Russian kits.

When did Avadi roll out its first tank?

The first T-90S built at Avadi rolled out on 7 January 2004. PIB’s year-end review gives the date. The tank was named Bhishma. GlobalSecurity’s Bhishma page quotes the Minister of State for Defence Production saying the name came from the Mahabharata warrior, a symbol of strength.

What about the 1,000-tank licence?

Sources disagree on when India got a licence for 1,000 tanks. Defense News says a 2006 agreement provided it. Militarnyi ties it to the 2001 contract. Do not memorise a year for it.

Both reports say 2009 was the year of the first T-90S with Indian-made parts instead of kits. That is a later milestone than the 2004 roll-out. Do not mix the two.

What are Bhishma, Mk III and IM?

• Bhishma: the Indian name for the licence-built T-90 tanks. It was given at the January 2004 roll-out.
• T-90 Mk III: a later, upgraded type. The Army contracted for 464 in November 2019. The first 10 arrived in May 2024.
• T-90IM: “IM” means indigenously manufactured, says Militarnyi. The 1,000th tank was a T-90IM.

Do not treat “Bhishma” and “Mk III” as one model. Bhishma names the family. Mk III is one later version.

How Indian is it now?

Militarnyi reports that current T-90IM tanks are roughly 80% Indian-made. No ministry figure was found, so treat that as a press estimate. Defense News says AVNL has fully localised the V-92 engine. Militarnyi also says the engine is made in India.

What happened in May 2026?

Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL) delivered the 1,000th T-90(IM) to the Army on 22 May 2026. It was produced at HVF Avadi. Militarnyi reported the same milestone on 24 May 2026. AVNL was set up in 2021 after the Ordnance Factory Board was restructured.

Three leases, counting Chakra III. Defense News calls Chakra III the third Russian nuclear attack submarine leased to the Navy.

What were the three leases?

• First INS Chakra, 1988 to 1991: a Charlie-class boat from the Soviet Union. The lease ran for three years.
• Second INS Chakra, 2012 to 2021: an Akula-class boat, leased for ten years.
• Chakra III: a ten-year lease signed in March 2019. It had not arrived by Carnegie India’s April 2026 report.

What happened to the second Chakra?

An IRNA report of 2011 says the boat was the former Nerpa. It says India funded its completion at the Amur Shipyard. IRNA said it would be renamed INS Chakra. Deccan Herald reported on 4 June 2021 that it was on its way back to Russia. Its lease was ending.

Where is Chakra III built?

Reports do not name the shipyard for Chakra III. Learn only that it is a Russian boat, refurbished in Russia. Defence Mirror says the refurbishment is part of the contract.

Why does leasing help?

Carnegie India says the Chakra leases were for training. A lease lets crews learn to run a nuclear submarine. India does not have to wait for its own attack submarines.

Chakra III is leased, not built in India, and not yet delivered. These are the main dated facts.

What is the deal?

India signed a $3 billion, ten-year lease in March 2019. The boat is an Akula-class nuclear attack submarine. Defense News says the deal includes refurbishment with Indian communication and sensor systems.

When will it arrive?

Delivery was first due by 2025. PIB’s Fact Check post of 4 December 2025 gave 2028 as the new date. It called a Bloomberg report of a new $2 billion deal misleading. No new deal was signed. The lease rests on the 2019 contract.

Carnegie India blames Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine for the delay. Defence Mirror also cites refurbishment needs.

What will it do?

Defense News says Chakra III will carry no long-range nuclear missiles. It is not meant for deterrence patrols. It will carry conventional land-attack and anti-ship missiles and torpedoes.

Defence Mirror reports that it is for training and barred from active combat deployment. Treat it as mainly a training boat. Do not claim it is barred from every use.

Will India lease a second Akula?

idrw.org reported on 9 January 2026 that a second lease is increasingly unlikely. It cited unnamed sources. The reason given was the delay to Chakra III. This is one unofficial report.

The Arihant class is India’s own programme. It is separate from the leased Akula-class boats.

What happened on 3 April 2026?

INS Aridhaman was commissioned at the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam. It is the third Arihant-class submarine. Carnegie India says the commissioning was quiet, with no formal announcement.

INS Arihant was commissioned in 2016. INS Arighaat followed in August 2024.

Why are three boats needed?

Carnegie India says at least three boats are needed for round-the-clock patrol. One is on patrol. The other two are in maintenance or transit.

What do SSN and SSBN mean?

• SSN: a nuclear-powered attack submarine. The leased Akula is an SSN.
• SSBN: a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. The Arihant class is SSBN.

Do not mix the two.

What about India’s own attack submarines?

Carnegie India says the government sanctioned two SSNs in 2024. It expects the first in 2036-37. A defence blog says the plan is called Project-77. It expects sea trials near 2034. The sources differ, so expect the mid-2030s.

Why does lease versus build matter?

Leasing gives India nuclear-submarine operating experience. It avoids the wait for a fully Indian programme. Licence manufacture builds factories and skills at home. PIB called the Su-30 MKI order a boost to the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative. Together, leased, licence-built and indigenous hardware show India’s self-reliance push.

Use this list to check an answer before you commit.

What are the common traps?

• Operated is not made. A leased submarine belongs to the lender, here Russia.
• Licence-built is not indigenous. The Su-30 MKI and T-90 use Russian designs.
• Bhishma is not Mk III. Bhishma names the family. Mk III is a later upgrade.
• 62.6% is for the 12 new jets. It does not describe the whole Su-30 MKI fleet.
• SSN is not SSBN. The Akula is an attack boat. The Arihant class carries ballistic missiles.
• Chakra III is not INS Chakra. The second INS Chakra went back in 2021.

What should you do with figures that sources count differently?

Name the source and the date. For example, say “Business Today, August 2026, reports 222 Su-30 MKIs built under licence”. Do not mix it with a count from another source.