India's defence sector received a significant boost as Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh confirmed at the Shangri-La Dialogue that the ₹60 billion BrahMos supersonic cruise missile contract with Vietnam has been signed. According to reports, Singh also revealed that a similar deal with Indonesia is now in its final stages, marking a major milestone for India's flagship defence export program. This development represents a significant shift from the missile's previous status as exclusively built for India's own arsenal to becoming a genuine global export engine. The agreement further strengthens India–Vietnam bilateral defence and strategic cooperation, particularly in the field of maritime and regional security.
The BrahMos export surge creates substantial opportunities across India's defence manufacturing ecosystem. Data Patterns has emerged as a critical player, securing ₹460 million in production orders and ₹1,050 million in AMC service contracts from BrahMos in FY26. The company's strong fundamentals include 35% sales CAGR and 60% profit CAGR over the past five years, with an estimated order book of ₹20-30 billion over the next 18-24 months. Premier Explosives specializes in manufacturing high-energy materials for missile propellants, while Solar Industries supplies indigenous booster systems with a ₹180 billion defence order book including exports worth approximately ₹110 billion. Hindustan Aeronautics contributes through aircraft integration capabilities, maintaining an order book exceeding ₹2 trillion with plans to expand helicopter production to over 1,000 units in the next 20 years.
The BrahMos success story builds on the Philippines becoming the first foreign buyer in 2022 with a $375 million order, with deliveries beginning in 2024. The defence ministry has set an ambitious target to double defence exports to ₹50,000 crore by 2029, creating substantial opportunities for these companies. HAL's massive order pipeline stretches through FY30, creating a total addressable market opportunity of nearly ₹4.2 trillion. Solar Industries is expanding its capacity with a ₹12,700 crore investment over ten years through a mega defence project in Nagpur, while Premier Explosives plans to enhance production capacity of high-explosive materials to meet increased demand.
The defence companies demonstrate strong financial fundamentals supporting their BrahMos involvement. Data Patterns achieved 35% sales CAGR and 60% profit CAGR over five years with 16% ROE and 24% ROCE. Premier Explosives recorded 21% revenue CAGR while becoming profitable, averaging 6% ROE and 11% ROCE. Solar Industries delivered impressive 28% sales CAGR and 36% profit CAGR with 26% ROE and 32% ROCE. HAL maintained 24% ROE and 30% ROCE while growing sales at 8% CAGR and net profit at 24% CAGR over five years. The companies' strong order books and expanding capabilities position them well to capitalize on the growing BrahMos export market.
The defence sector has witnessed strong market performance with Data Patterns shares rallying 9% and hitting new highs at ₹4,498, while Paras Defence surged 81% from its March 2026 lows. According to ICICI Securities, defence sector execution remained healthy in FY26 with 12% year-on-year growth despite mixed Q4 performance, reflecting the back-ended nature of defence deliveries. The sector outlook remains robust with aggregate order backlog improving to ~4.6x FY26 revenue, providing strong multiyear revenue visibility. The brokerage remains constructive on the sector, supported by an accelerating procurement pipeline, increasing indigenisation, rising export opportunities and sustained policy support for domestic defence manufacturing.
