Exclusive: BDL, BEL eye export opportunity in Project Kusha; 7-8 countries show interest

India’s ambitious long-range air defence programme Project Kusha, being developed jointly by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), is now being readied not just for induction into the Indian Air Force (IAF) but also for the export market, top government sources told Zee Business.

According to sources in the Ministry of Defence, the Centre is working on an export version of Project Kusha, which is often compared with Russia’s S-400 defence system.

The project is currently under trials, while the Government of India has already sanctioned around Rs 21,700 crore for the programme.

Add Zee Business as a Preferred Source

Sources said that the first five units will be built for the Indian Air Force, with induction expected between 2028 and 2030.

At the same time, global interest in the platform is beginning to build. The government sources said that 7-8 countries have shown interest in Project Kusha, with enquiries coming from South America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Armenia, Malaysia and a few Gulf nations are among the countries understood to be tracking the programme closely.

Officials said that one Project Kusha unit could be priced between Rs 4,000 crore and Rs 5,000 crore, nearly half the cost of some competing long-range air defence systems in the global market.

According to government officials, recent conflicts across multiple regions have sharply increased demand for advanced air defence platforms, creating an opportunity for India to position Project Kusha as a major defence export in the years ahead.

At the time of publishing this report, Zee Business's queries emailed to BDL and BEL remained unanswered.