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INDUSTRY FACT FILE · DEFENCE & STRATEGIC INDUSTRIES

Main Products and Services in Defence and Strategic Industries

What India's defence PSUs, private manufacturers, suppliers, research organisations, start-ups and space and electronics firms deliver, the systems behind each, and where those systems create cyber and compliance exposure.

In this document

1. How defence and strategic organisations create value

2. Products and services by organisation type

3. The design layer: engineering data, software and firmware

4. The production layer: plants, suppliers, test and sustainment

5. The systems behind the products and services

6. Trends that change the attack surface

7. Mapping operations to Codec Networks engagements

1. How defence and strategic organisations create value

Revenue stream	How it works	Security relevance
Platform and system contracts	Aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles, radars and weapons supplied under DAP contracts	Bid data, designs, programme schedules and contract documents
Sub-systems and components	Parts, assemblies, electronics and materials supplied to DPSUs and primes	Drawings received from customers, supplier portals, quality records
Development and technology transfer	Design and development with DRDO and partners; licensed production	Source code, technical data packages, test results
Exports	Equipment, spares and services sold to more than 80 countries	Export-controlled data, customer communications, end-user documents
Maintenance, repair and spares	Lifecycle support, overhaul, upgrades and spares for the armed forces	Field data, remote support, spares authenticity
Space and electronics services	Satellites, ground systems, launch services and strategic electronics	Firmware, ground segment networks, mission data

2. Products and services by organisation type

Organisation type	Main products and services	Key systems
Defence PSUs	Aircraft, helicopters, warships, submarines, electronics, missiles and munitions	PLM and CAD, ERP, MES, test benches, isolated design networks
Ordnance successor companies	Ammunition, armoured vehicles, weapons, optics, parachutes and troop equipment	ERP, plant control systems, quality and inventory systems
Private defence primes	Platforms, systems integration, artillery, vehicles, drones and electronics	PLM, ERP, MES, partner portals, export and JV systems
MSME suppliers	Precision machining, castings, forgings, cables, PCBs and sub-assemblies	Email, file servers, CAM software, CNC machines, small ERP
R&D and strategic organisations	Design, prototypes, simulation, trials and technology transfer	Research networks, simulation clusters, test ranges, data stores
Defence start-ups	Drones, counter-drone, AI, sensors, secure communications and cyber products	Cloud development, code repositories, build pipelines, firmware
Space and strategic electronics	Satellites, payloads, ground stations, radar, EW and secure devices	Embedded firmware, ground segment, component supply chains

3. The design layer: engineering data, software and firmware

A modern defence product is as much data as metal. A radar, a drone or an armoured vehicle begins as requirements, models and drawings in CAD and product lifecycle management systems, grows through simulation, embedded software and firmware, and is proven through test data and trial reports. That engineering information is the most valuable thing a defence organisation holds: with it, an adversary can understand a system's capabilities and limitations, copy it or plan countermeasures. It is also the information most widely shared, because DPSUs and primes must send drawings and specifications to suppliers, receive technical data packages from DRDO and foreign partners, and exchange test results with the armed forces.

Software has become central to almost every system. Flight controls, fire control, communications, sensors and drones depend on code and firmware that are written by internal teams, start-ups and suppliers, often using open-source components and cloud build services. If source code is stolen, vulnerabilities can be found offline; if a build pipeline is tampered with, altered firmware can reach units in the field. SMLDI 2025 asks licensed companies to classify data and control how classified information is handled, stored and transmitted, but secure development, code signing and software bills of materials are what give programme managers confidence that what was delivered is what was designed.

4. The production layer: plants, suppliers, test and sustainment

The production layer joins IT, operational technology and people. Factories run ERP, manufacturing execution systems, CNC machines, robotic cells, test benches and calibration systems, increasingly connected for planning, quality data and remote vendor support. Ransomware that crosses from IT into the shop floor can stop lines and miss delivery milestones, while an infected laptop at a test bench can carry malware between networks. Rheinmetall's statement that strict separation kept a 2023 ransomware attack away from its military business is the clearest public argument for segmentation in the sector.

Behind every prime stands a long tail of suppliers. A single programme may involve hundreds of MSMEs that receive drawings by email, store them on shared drives and use small IT teams or none at all. Thales's statement that data published in 2022 came partly from a partner's account on a collaboration portal shows that the weakest account in the ecosystem can expose a prime. Sustainment adds field service laptops, remote support and spares supply, where counterfeit or tampered components are a real risk, and export customers add their own security and audit expectations. Supplier assurance, controlled data exchange and monitoring of partner access are therefore core controls, not paperwork.

Highest-risk moments

Bid submission and contract negotiation, transfer of technical data packages to production partners, onboarding of new suppliers and start-ups, trials and test campaigns, factory automation and ERP or MES upgrades, joint ventures and export deals with foreign partners, migration of design tools to new systems or cloud, periods of regional tension that bring hacktivist and espionage surges, and staff exits from sensitive programmes are where defence industry incidents typically begin or escalate.

5. The systems behind the products and services

Title: Figure 2: Where cyber risk sits across the defence programme lifecycle. - Description: Figure 2: Where cyber risk sits across the defence programme lifecycle.

Figure 2: Where cyber risk sits across the defence programme lifecycle.

Product / service	Systems that deliver it	Key cyber and compliance touchpoints
Bid and contract	RFP responses, bid documents, offset and partner files	Bid confidentiality, phishing defence, data classification
Design and R&D	CAD, PLM, simulation clusters, code repositories	Isolated networks, access control, insider monitoring, secure SDLC
Supply chain	Supplier email, portals, drawing exchange, quality records	Supplier assessments, secure exchange, contract clauses
Manufacture	ERP, MES, CNC machines, PLCs, test benches	IT–OT segmentation, remote-access control, backups, SOC
Integrate and test	Embedded firmware, trial instrumentation, test data	Code signing, verified builds, trial data protection
Deliver and sustain	MRO systems, field laptops, spares, export documentation	Counterfeit controls, remote support security, export data handling

6. Trends that change the attack surface

Trend	What is changing	Security implication
Indigenisation at scale	More design and production moves to Indian industry and MSMEs	Controlled data spreads to many more organisations
Private sector growth	Private firms produce about a quarter of output and nearly half of exports	New entrants need security programmes quickly
Software-defined systems	Drones, sensors and platforms depend on code and firmware	Secure development and firmware integrity become critical
Smart factories	MES, robotics and connected test benches	Ransomware and OT intrusion can stop lines
Global supply roles	Indian firms supply foreign primes and export customers	DFARS, CMMC and partner audits apply
Security as a licence condition	SMLDI 2025 links cyber controls to licensed production	Gap assessments, audits and monitoring needed

7. Mapping operations to Codec Networks engagements

If the organisation operates…	Recommended starting engagement
Design networks, PLM or classified engineering data	Restricted environment assessment under clearance procedures, access and data-transfer control review
Software, firmware or drone and sensor products	Secure SDLC review, source code and firmware assessment, build pipeline and code-signing review
Factories, test benches or OT networks	OT assessment, IT–OT segmentation review, remote-access review, backup and recovery testing
A supplier base that receives drawings and specifications	Tiered supplier security assessments, secure exchange design and contract clauses
Work for US or other foreign primes	NIST SP 800-171 readiness and data segregation review
An industrial licence for defence items	SMLDI 2025 cyber gap assessment, policies, CISO support and log readiness for MoD integration

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Note: Descriptions are general and based on public information available as of October 2026. Systems and exposures differ by organisation, programme and licence category.