Aniket PujariAdani Aerospace and Defence, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Defence Systems and Technologies Ltd, and Leonardo signed the partnership on Tuesday. Adani Defence Systems and Technologies is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises.
In an interview with Mint, Ashish Rajvanshi, president and chief executive of Adani Aerospace and Defence, said that the partnerships reflect the ports-to-energy conglomerate’s push to increase revenue from defence ventures over the next five fiscals.
“We’re scaling up our current operations based on the required local sourcing norms of the Indian Army and Navy. Each of these contracts requires varying degrees of component localization, and we will comply with each contract as required. The overall process of localizing military helicopters will happen over time, and we plan to start supplying the first India-made versions of Leonardo’s products to our defence forces before 2030,” Rajvanshi said.
According to the company’s FY25 filings, Adani Aerospace and Defence did not report any operating revenue in the previous fiscal. Adani Defence Systems and Technologies, its holding company, reported consolidated operating revenue of ₹2,007 crore in FY25.
Key Takeaways
- Adani has secured two global aerospace JVs in two weeks.
- The group expects to deliver the first Made in India Leonardo helicopters to the armed forces by the end of the decade.
- Despite the capital-intensive nature of the aerospace industry, Adani claims it has no immediate plans for new fundraises.
- Adani is pivoting from selling hardware to selling ‘intelligence’ through Alpha Design.
- The group is positioned to benefit from the government’s ₹2.19 trillion capital expenditure budget, of which 75% is ring-fenced for Indian firms.
While Rajvanshi did not disclose the company’s capital requirements for the project, he said there are no immediate plans to raise funds. “We are working out the current financial terms of the Leonardo deal, and the financial details will be shared in about two weeks’ time,” the executive said.
Revenue race
Also in the ramp-up phase are Adani’s defence conglomerate’s emergency procurement (EP) contracts from the Indian government. “We’re applicants in both EP-4 and EP-6 projects, and each of them is in advanced ramp-up stages as we look to increase the contribution of our defence operations to the overall top line,” Rajvanshi added.
With multiple projects in consolidation phases, Jeet Adani, director of Adani Aerospace and Defence, said that the entity does not have any immediate further joint ventures in sight until the next fiscal. “Our goal is to scale up the current joint ventures, even though many of these partnerships are ongoing discussions and depend on the opportunity,” he said.
Between December 2018 and April 2020, Adani Defence Systems also acquired Alpha Design Technologies to step up the conglomerate’s defence play in space. Alpha Design, which specializes in space surveillance technologies, reported ₹1,039 crore in FY25, driven by government contracts for earth observation and surveillance satellites.
“We’re not looking at ramping up surveillance satellites as a standalone piece, but as a full spatial intelligence set that offers data analytics and intelligence-based outputs to defence agencies,” Rajvanshi added.
Adani’s push for defence contracts comes as each of India’s top conglomerates ramps up its defence operations. On 20 November, Mint reported that Larsen & Toubro Ltd’s defence division was eyeing annual revenue of $1 billion (nearly ₹9,000 crore), as it sought to close contracts for light armoured tanks, aerial defence systems, surveillance satellites and more.
L&T led the top Indian conglomerates in their respective defence contract bids. Tata Advanced Systems, wholly held by the Tata group, reported ₹5,176 crore in revenue in FY25—ahead of Adani Defence Systems.
Policy support
The boost to India’s private defence sector was mirrored in the FY27 budget on Sunday, which earmarked a record ₹7.86 trillion for defence, including ₹2.19 trillion for defence capital expenditure.
Speaking on the sidelines of Adani and Leonardo’s deal signing, Rajesh Kumar Singh, defence secretary, said that 75% of the capital expenditure is earmarked solely for India’s indigenous private sector.
“The Centre’s push shows opportunities and avenues for India’s large companies as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to venture deeper into private defence contracts, and build indigenous solutions. At the same time, one must remain aware that there are no absolute substitutions for imports or indigenization—both must coexist, depending on industry demand and requirement,” Singh said.
