STRATEGIC MONTHLY REVIEW
Bharat’s Strategic Engine
9 July - 9 August 2026
The Month in One Sentence
The battlefield is changing. Bharat is changing with it.
July and the first week of August were not defined by one major announcement. They were defined by a series of smaller moves that point in the same direction: more indigenous technology, more operational depth, and a defence system increasingly built around Bharat’s industry.
Maritime Power: Another Layer at Sea
On 11 July, the Bharat’s Navy commissioned INS Mahendragiri at Visakhapatnam.
The sixth and final Project 17A stealth frigate. Around 75 percent indigenous content. Designed by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders.
Mahendragiri joins a fleet that is becoming larger and more capable without becoming more dependent on foreign construction.
On 22 July, the Navy commissioned INS Malvan, the second Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft, at Karwar.
The two ships represent different requirements.
Mahendragiri is built for blue-water operations.
Malvan is built for the shallow waters closer to Bharat’s coast.
The strategy needs both.
Pinaka: Precision at Greater Range
On 8 July, DRDO successfully flight-tested the Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket at Chandipur.
The rocket was tested to a minimum range of 60 kilometres and followed its predicted trajectory before hitting the target. More importantly, the test was conducted from the existing Pinaka launcher.
That means greater range without having to build an entirely new launch architecture.
The lesson is straightforward.
Modern artillery is moving towards precision, not simply volume. Bharat is upgrading a system already used by the Army rather than starting from zero.
Kusha: Building the Air Defence Layer
On 23 July, DRDO conducted the maiden flight test of Kusha, the indigenous Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile system.
The test used an electronic target simulating a high-speed, high-altitude aerial threat. The target was successfully intercepted.
Kusha is designed to engage a range of aerial threats, including aircraft, missiles and unmanned systems.
It is still a development programme. One test does not make a completed air-defence network.
But it is an important step towards one.
The larger objective is clear: reduce dependence on imported systems while building a layered air-defence architecture suited to Bharat’s own requirements.
The Airborne Eye: AEW&C Moves Forward
On 22 July, DRDO signed two major contracts for the AEW&C Mk-II programme.
Six A321 aircraft will be converted for the programme, while Adani Defence Systems and Technologies will participate as a Development Cum Production Partner for the mission systems.
The significance goes beyond the aircraft itself.
In modern air warfare, seeing first can be as important as firing first.
Airborne early-warning platforms extend the range at which threats can be detected and allow fighters and other systems to operate with a wider picture of the battlespace.
Bharat is building that picture at home.
Kaveri 2.0: The Hardest Technology
The revival of the Kaveri engine programme brought one of Bharat’s oldest defence-technology ambitions back into focus.
The Gas Turbine Research Establishment is now working on a new-generation Kaveri 2.0 approach, with renewed attention to thrust, weight and afterburner performance. The longer-term objective is to develop an indigenous fighter engine capable of supporting future combat aircraft.
The reported roadmap looks towards the end of the decade for major development milestones, with possible applications to future Tejas variants and, eventually, the AMCA programme.
But this is one area where ambition needs to be separated from achievement.
A fighter engine is among the hardest technologies to develop. Bharat has tried before and fallen short.
Kaveri 2.0 therefore matters not because the problem has been solved.
It matters because Bharat is trying again-with more industrial experience, a stronger aerospace ecosystem, and a much greater strategic reason to succeed.
Engines: One More Dependency Removed
Another development came on 23 July.
DRDO’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment successfully developed the first indigenous 350-kg-thrust-class expendable turbojet engine. The engine was manufactured and assembled with Azad Engineering as the industry partner and delivered to GTRE on 22 July.
It is a much smaller engine than the one required for a fighter aircraft.
But small propulsion systems matter too. They have applications in missiles, target drones and unmanned systems.
The broader lesson is the important one.
Self-reliance is built component by component.
BEL: Defence Electronics Meets GeoAI
Bharat Electronics Limited secured additional defence orders worth ₹847 crore by the end of July, covering areas including electro-optics, seekers, security operation centres, components, spares and services.
Then, on 3 August, BEL signed an MoU with Esri India to develop and deploy GIS, location intelligence and GeoAI solutions for the defence sector.
This is a different kind of defence technology.
Maps are no longer simply maps.
Geospatial intelligence now feeds surveillance, logistics, targeting, command and decision-making.
The battlefield is becoming more digital. Bharat’s defence industry is moving in that direction too.
Semiconductors: Security Begins Before the Weapon
The semiconductor story also deserves attention.
The CG Semi OSAT facility at Sanand, Gujarat began commercial production in early July. Once fully ramped up, the facility is expected to have an annual capacity of up to 5 billion semiconductor chips.
The facility is not a defence plant.
That is exactly why it matters to national security.
Modern weapons depend on electronics. Electronics depend on semiconductors. A country that cannot secure critical components remains vulnerable even when it can design the platform around them.
The strategic supply chain now begins long before the missile factory.
Diplomacy: Europe Gets More Strategic
On 15 July, Bharat and Belgium held their first Bharat-Belgium Strategic Dialogue, co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot.
The two sides agreed to deepen cooperation in trade and investment, technology, connectivity, defence and security.
Belgium may not be the first country that comes to mind when thinking about Bharat’s strategic partnerships.
That is precisely what makes the dialogue interesting.
Bharat’s European engagement is becoming broader. It is no longer limited to the traditional major powers. Smaller European states are increasingly part of a wider network covering technology, defence, connectivity and economic security.
BRICS: Security Beyond the Battlefield
Bharat’s BRICS Chair ship also produced a security-related development in the Northeast.
On 6-7 July, Guwahati hosted the BRICS Heads of Anti-Drug Agencies Meeting. The meeting concluded with the Guwahati Declaration, with member states committing to stronger cooperation against illicit drug trafficking and related transnational organised crime.
Bharat pushed for faster information and intelligence sharing.
The timing matters.
Synthetic drugs, darknet trafficking, cryptocurrency-based payments and organised cross-border networks are changing the nature of the narcotics threat.
For the Northeast, where geography creates multiple cross-border vulnerabilities, this is not merely a law-enforcement issue.
It is a national security issue.
The Strategic Verdict
The period produced no single weapon or diplomatic move that changes Bharat’s strategic position overnight.
But that is not how strategic power is built.
A stealth frigate entered the fleet.
Pinaka extended its reach.
Kusha took its first flight.
AEW&C Mk-II moved from concept towards production.
Kaveri 2.0 returned to the agenda.
A new indigenous turbojet engine was delivered.
BEL expanded its defence-electronics footprint.
GeoAI entered the defence conversation.
A semiconductor plant began commercial production.
And Europe became a little more strategically connected to Bharat.
The pattern is difficult to miss.
Bharat is not only trying to acquire military power.
It is trying to build the industrial, technological and diplomatic ecosystem that sustains military power.
That is a harder task.
It is also the more important one.
The next test is no longer whether Bharat can produce a weapon.
It is whether Bharat can build the entire system around it.
Seema Sanghosh English: August 2026
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