India Still Depends Heavily On Russian Arms, France Emerges As Second-Largest Supplier: SIPRI Report

New Delhi: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has reported that India continues to rely significantly on Russian weapons, but its defence ties with France are growing stronger. According to the reports, India remains the world's second-largest arms importer after Ukraine.

Is India really the world's second-largest arms importer after Ukraine?

As per data from SIPRI, India accounted for 8.3 per cent of global arms imports between 2021 and 2025, which placed it second worldwide. Ukraine, who is currently engaged in a war with Russia, topped the list with a 9.7 per cent share during the same period.

According to reports by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), nearly 48 per cent of India's defence imports come from Russia, while France accounts for about 24 per cent of the country's military supplies.

India's top supplier are Russia, France and Israel, accounting for 40 per cent, 29 per cent and 15 per cent of its imports respectively.

What was there in the report?

The SIPRI report, titled 'Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2025', which was released on Monday, had a positive indication that India's dependence on imported arms had reduced. It compared a previous five-year block of the years 2016-2020 and read, "Indian arms imports fell by 4.0 per cent between 2016-20 and 2021-25."

Why does Russia still dominate India's arms imports?

For decades, Russia has been India's primary defence partner, supplying fighter jets, submarines, missiles and other military equipment. Even today, Russian systems form the backbone of several branches of the Indian armed forces.

However, SIPRI said that Russia’s share in India’s arms imports has declined compared with earlier years, indicating that India is exploring more suppliers to reduce dependence on a single country. 

“Russia’s share of Indian arms imports dropped from 70 per cent in 2011–15 to 51 per cent in 2016–20 and then to 40 per cent in 2021–25,” the SIPRI said

How is France strengthening its defence ties with India?

France has now emerged as India’s second-largest arms supplier, accounting for nearly a quarter of the country’s defence imports.

The growing partnership is driven by major defence deals between the two countries, including fighter jets and submarine projects. 

What does the report say about global arms trends?

The SIPRI report also points to changing patterns in the global arms market. Rising geopolitical tensions and regional conflicts have led many countries to increase military spending and modernise their defence forces