India’s Defence Tech Market Expected to Reach $19 Billion by 2030

New Delhi: India’s defence technology market—currently valued at $7.6 billion in 2025—is set to expand to $19 billion by 2030, growing at nearly 20 per cent CAGR, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Technology-driven systems are projected to make up almost half of India’s overall defence market by 2030, signalling a major shift from traditional platform-centric development to advanced engineering and digital technologies, the report by workforce solutions company Quess Corp stated.

Strong growth is underway across several high-tech domains, including computer vision, autonomous systems, counter-drone technology, underwater robotics, advanced sensors, directed-energy research, and software-based mission systems. This momentum is being powered by over 1,000 defence-tech startups and 194 industry-linked firms participating in innovation programmes.

However, the report warns of severe shortages in critical engineering roles such as radar engineering, RF engineering, avionics, propulsion, optical engineering, quantum communication systems, systems integration, testing, validation, and certification. These skilled roles currently make up less than 5 per cent of India’s defence workforce and could become major bottlenecks for aircraft development, UAV projects, naval systems, and secure communication networks.

Counter-drone technology continues to dominate India’s defence startup ecosystem, capturing 71 per cent of total startup funding. This segment is projected to grow at nearly 17 per cent CAGR, reaching a market size of $1.4 billion by 2029.

“The next five years are decisive. For India to become a global systems leader, scaling defence-ready AI and frontier engineering talent by 5–6 times is not just an industry need—it is a national imperative,” said Kapil Joshi, CEO – IT Staffing at Quess Corp.

The report also highlights that certification, safety engineering, testing, and validation roles will see the highest surge in demand. Without targeted upskilling, 40–45 per cent of these specialised positions could remain vacant by 2030, affecting deployment readiness, slowing production cycles, and reducing export competitiveness.

—With inputs from IANS