India has maintained its position as the world’s leading arms importer for the third year in a row, ahead of China, which moved up a spot as one of the world’s five largest weapons exporters, a Swedish-based research institute says. India replaced China as the world’s leading importer of weapons in 2011 and has retained the spot ever since, accounting for 12% of global arms imports, almost twice as much as China, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) says.
NEW DELHI — India’s state-run Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) plans to develop an advanced aerostat and communication system to boost military air defenses and enhance surveillance. BEL director S.K. Sharma says the Bengaluru-based defense firm will jointly work with U.S.-based aerostat and airship maker TCOM to design and develop the aerosatat system. “The partnership will augment the surveillance capabilities of our defense services, security services and law enforcement agencies,” Sharma says.
