By Saurabh Sharma and Aftab Ahmed
NEW DELHI, June 22 (Reuters) - The Indian government is in talks with the UAE to sell some of its flagship defence systems, including the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, four Indian sources said, as the Gulf nation steps up arms procurement following the war in the Middle East.
The discussions, which have not been previously reported, include the potential sale of India’s air defence system Akashteer, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
“UAE has shown interest for a number of our weapon systems including BrahMos and Akashteer. The talks between India and UAE are at initial stages and are progressing fast,” said a third source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Indian officials and the UAE foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
BrahMos, jointly developed by India and Russia, is among the world’s fastest cruise missiles and can be launched from land, sea and air platforms, while Akashteer is a fully automated air defence system developed by India’s state-run Bharat Electronics Ltd and the Indian Army.
The UAE is considering buying defence equipment from India and other sources after the Gulf nation was heavily attacked by Iran during the war and as it enhances its ability to respond to emerging threats. It also needs to protect the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial conduit for its energy exports.
Earlier this year, the UAE signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea to promote defence cooperation that would be worth more than $35 billion.
“A diversified supplier base gives the UAE more strategic autonomy, and closer ties with India have the added benefit of not antagonising the U.S. as the countries remain allies,” said Pearl Pandya, South Asia senior analyst at Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a conflict monitoring group.
According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the U.S. was the biggest exporter of arms to the Middle East between 2021 and 2025, supplying 54% of imports, followed by Italy at 12% and France at 11%.
Before clinching any BrahMos sale to the UAE, India would require Russia’s approval, as the 290-km (180-mile) range missile is jointly developed. One source said this is unlikely to pose a hurdle given Moscow’s close ties with Abu Dhabi.
Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher with SIPRI’s arms transfers programme, said both the BrahMos missile and Akashteer system would potentially serve the UAE’s needs, even if international competition to sell Gulf states arms was increasing and the UAE had experience with other suppliers.
TIGHTER TIES BETWEEN INDIA, UAE
The UAE already has the U.S. MGM-168 ATACMS ballistic missile, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which has a maximum range of 300 km. For air defence, it has the sophisticated U.S. THAAD and Patriot systems.
Akashteer would help knit together information from other devices to combat an air threat, defence experts said.
While India had a track record of reports of arms export deals that did not always bear fruit, Wezeman said upcoming sales to the UAE and other Gulf states were possible.
Closer ties between India and the UAE in recent years have led to a flurry of deals on trade and energy and a pact to jointly develop military hardware.
The talks to sell India’s flagship weapons systems is further evidence of changing alignments in the region, and India sees its deepening partnership as a counter to the recent defence pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, according to two Indian government sources.
“The growing ties must also be understood against the backdrop of wider regional geopolitical dynamics, in particular the competition between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi for regional leadership,” Pandya said.
“Expanded defence ties between India and the UAE essentially serve as a form of strategic signalling, allowing both countries to showcase the strength and depth of their partnerships,” she added.
INDIA’S DEFENCE EXPORTS SURGING
Last year’s four-day war between India and Pakistan, when India used weapons systems including BrahMos for the first time in battle, sparked buyer interest from other countries, two of the Indian sources said.
Since then, India has signed deals to sell the BrahMos to Vietnam and Indonesia. It has also received interest from Thailand, South Africa, Brazil and Chile, the two sources said. The embassies of those countries in New Delhi did not respond to emails seeking comment.
The only previous sale of the BrahMos was to the Philippines in 2022.
India’s defence exports surged to over $4 billion in the year ending March 2026, from just $7.26 million in 2013-14, according to the Indian government.
India is also the world’s second-largest buyer of arms, accounting for over 8% of global arms imports, according SIPRI.
($1 = 94.5250 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Saurabh Sharma and Aftab Ahmed in New Delhi; additional reporting by Greg Torode in Hong Kong, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
