India has sold its Akash air-defence missile system to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, marking its entry into a Central Asian arms market long dominated by Russia and increasingly contested by China. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh confirmed the sales last Thursday, describing the Akash as "one of our success stories" and suggesting further buyers may follow.
What the Akash Actually Offers
The Akash is a short-range, surface-to-air missile system developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation. It can engage multiple aerial targets simultaneously and includes safeguards against electronic jamming, according to the Defence Ministry. Each missile measures 5.87 metres, weighs roughly 710 kilograms, and uses command guidance to track targets between 100 metres and 20 kilometres in altitude, with an operational range of 4.5 to 25 kilometres. Newer variants, Akash Prime and Akash-NG, add upgraded sensors. Analysts point to the system's use during last year's brief air confrontation with Pakistan as evidence it is combat-tested rather than purely theoretical.
A Market Reshaped by Supply Gaps
Russia remains Central Asia's dominant arms supplier, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, but its exports have declined since the invasion of Ukraine strained its own military stockpiles. China has been filling part of that gap, particularly in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. For Turkmenistan, which has already acquired Chinese air-defence equipment, the Akash is expected to fill a mid-layer role alongside that hardware, according to Atul Kumar of the Observer Research Foundation. Tajikistan, which still depends heavily on Russian equipment, gains a means of diversifying its suppliers without abandoning existing relationships. Armenia set the precedent in 2022, turning to the Akash after Russian supply shortages and concerns over Azerbaijan's drone capabilities.
Why Buyers Are Choosing a Third Option
Analysts describe India's appeal as a combination of cost and reliability rather than raw technological superiority over Western systems. Rahul Wankhede of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses noted that the Akash is backed by active domestic production lines and orders from India's own military, which gives buyers confidence in supply continuity and spare-parts availability. India is also positioned to support maintenance of existing Russian-origin systems in these countries, offering what Wankhede called a "dual advantage." Unlike China, Russia or the United States, he argued, India is not using arms sales to build long-term strategic dependency, making it a more neutral option for states trying to balance competing powers.
Geopolitical Stakes Beyond the Sale
For Moscow, India's presence in Central Asia is likely preferable to the region drifting toward NATO or Chinese military standards, Kumar said. For Beijing, however, Indian hardware appearing along its western periphery is an unwelcome signal, particularly given China's own efforts to become the region's preferred military supplier. India currently ranks 31st globally in arms exports, having shipped an estimated $4 billion in weapons last financial year - a modest figure that underscores how early this expansion remains. C. Uday Bhaskar of the Society for Policy Studies suggested India is unlikely to challenge Russia directly, given continued cooperation on projects like the BrahMos missile, but competition with China is a separate and more consequential story. Aleksei Zakharov of the Observer Research Foundation added that Tajikistan and Turkmenistan may now consider Indian radar systems, artillery and other equipment, suggesting the Akash sale could be an opening rather than an endpoint.