India’s defence imports have undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade and a half, cutting into Russia’s long-standing dominance and creating space for the United States as a major supplier. Until 2008, US arms sales to India barely registered, standing at just $233 million and limited to a few radars and a second-hand warship. Since then, however, deals worth $24 billion have been signed, covering everything from strategic transport aircraft and submarine-hunting planes to helicopters, rifles and missile systems. Another $5 billion worth of contracts for jet engines, drones, armoured vehicles, artillery rounds and torpedoes are already in the pipeline, with much more expected.
This surge has made the US India’s second-largest arms supplier, overtaking others and trailing only Russia, which had maintained a half-century head start. The United States has managed to displace entire categories of Soviet-origin equipment in India’s inventory. Boeing C-17 Globemaster and Lockheed Martin C-130J aircraft now dominate the Air Force’s medium- and heavy-lift fleet, while Boeing Apaches have taken over from Soviet Mi-24 and Mi-35 gunships. The Indian Navy’s Soviet-built Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft and Ka-series helicopters have been replaced by Boeing P-8I Poseidons and Sikorsky MH-60R Romeos. Even the Army’s standard-issue rifle has shifted to the American-made SIG 716.
Russia, which once supplied nearly 72 per cent of India’s military imports, has seen its share halved to 36 per cent by 2024, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. India still turns to Moscow for exclusive platforms such as S-400 long-range air defence missiles and the lease of a nuclear-powered submarine, but most other categories are being steadily taken over by Western suppliers, primarily the US. For Washington, this shift has meant a boost to its military-industrial sector, with Indian orders supporting thousands of jobs in states like California and New Hampshire.
Yet, the rapid growth in defence ties has come under stress from the tariff war unleashed during Donald Trump’s second term. In 2025, the US administration imposed a 50 per cent tariff on imports from India, sending relations to their lowest point since the 1998 nuclear sanctions. The Ministry of Defence in New Delhi has denied reports of a freeze on American arms purchases, calling them “false and fabricated,” but the environment of uncertainty has unsettled policymakers. The steps being taken to expand cooperation under the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology — iCET — risk being undermined if the trade dispute escalates.
The fundamental issue is not just about military sales, but about trust in the partnership itself. Defence ties had become one of the most important pillars of the India-US relationship, with New Delhi now conducting more military exercises with Washington than with any other country. India was designated a “Major Defence Partner” by the US Congress in 2016, and joint projects on advanced jet engines, drones and combat vehicles were seen as a leap forward in co-production and technology sharing. But Trump’s protectionist turn has injected doubt into the reliability of Washington as a long-term partner, at a time when India is looking to modernise its military while balancing regional threats from China and Pakistan.
The collateral damage of the tariff war could prove to be the erosion of the very foundation of trust that had been painstakingly built over more than a decade. If unresolved, it could push India to double down on developing its indigenous defence industry or even seek out new suppliers, slowing down what had been one of the fastest-growing defence partnerships in the world. In this sense, analysts warn that Trump’s actions may leave a lasting mark, not through any specific deal, but by weakening confidence in the durability of the India-US strategic relationship.
