India has sold its Akash air-defence missile system to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, establishing its first foothold in a Central Asian arms market long dominated by Russia. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh confirmed the deals last week, calling the Akash "one of our success stories" and signalling further interest from other buyers in the region.
What the Akash offers
Developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation, the Akash is a short-range, surface-to-air missile system capable of engaging multiple aerial targets simultaneously and resisting electronic jamming. It can strike targets between 100 metres and 20km in altitude, with an operational range of 4.5km to 25km. Each missile is 5.87 metres long and weighs roughly 710kg, using command guidance to lock onto its targets. Newer variants, Akash Prime and Akash-NG, add upgraded sensors and other refinements, reflecting a programme India has continued to iterate on rather than treat as finished.
Why Central Asia, and why now
Armenia became the Akash's first international customer in 2022, drawn by its comparatively low cost, Russian supply shortages, and concerns over rival Azerbaijan's drone capabilities, according to Atul Kumar of the Observer Research Foundation. Tajikistan and Turkmenistan appear to be following a similar logic: diversifying away from reliance on Russian and Chinese suppliers. Turkmenistan has already bought Chinese air-defence systems, and Kumar noted the Akash is expected to fill a mid-layer role alongside them rather than replace them outright.
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data shows Russia remains the region's dominant arms supplier despite exports falling since its invasion of Ukraine. Kazakhstan alone accounted for 11 per cent of Russia's major arms exports between 2020 and 2024, and Tajikistan still depends heavily on Russian equipment. China has been gaining ground too, particularly in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. India's entry gives buyers a third option - one analysts argue carries fewer strategic strings attached.
A system shaped by real combat use
Part of the Akash's appeal lies in its track record. Antoine Levesques of the International Institute for Strategic Studies described it as "a battle-hardened system," pointing to its deployment during last year's brief air conflict between India and Pakistan. That operational history, combined with domestic manufacturing lines and orders from India's own armed forces, gives buyers confidence in supply continuity, said Rahul Wankhede of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. India can also support maintenance of existing Russian-origin systems in these countries, offering what Wankhede called a "dual advantage."
Geopolitical calculations
For Moscow, Indian expansion into Central Asia is likely a tolerable alternative to the region drifting toward Nato or Chinese military standards, Kumar said. For Beijing, however, Indian hardware appearing along its western flank is a less welcome development, given China's own ambitions to become the region's preferred military supplier.
India currently ranks 31st globally in arms exports, having shipped an estimated $4 billion worth of weapons in the last financial year - a modest figure next to established exporters. C. Uday Bhaskar of the Society for Policy Studies described India as a "modest exporter" unlikely to challenge Russia directly, particularly given the two countries' joint work on the Brahmos missile system. Competition with China, he said, "is a different story." Analysts broadly agree that further Akash sales, and possibly exports of Indian radar, artillery and missile systems, will depend on India continuing to demonstrate reliability rather than scale alone.