India’s Akash missile exports to Central Asia seek to counter China, extremism

India’s military supplies to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, as part of New Delhi’s strategic outreach in its extended neighbourhood, are aimed at helping the two countries balance China’s growing influence in Central Asia and counter rising extremism from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

Defence Secretary RK Singh’s recent announcement of Akash missile sales to the two countries comes as India deepens its security engagement with the region.

“Akash, I would say that it is one of our success stories. It shows the maturing of our indigenous missile design and production system. It is effective in dealing with high-velocity aerial targets,” Singh recently told news agency ANI. “The first customer was Armenia, which has taken multiple batteries. Thereafter, we’ve also exported it to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Production has stabilised.”


Tajikistan is India’s oldest strategic partner in the region and once hosted India’s first military base abroad. The Ayni airbase, located near Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor, was a Soviet-era facility renovated by India at a cost of around $80 million. India reportedly used the base to support the Northern Alliance against Taliban 1.0 before withdrawing after the bilateral agreement lapsed.

India and Tajikistan cooperate closely on regional security, intelligence sharing and combating Islamist extremism originating from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. Tajik military cadets are also trained in India free of charge.

Tajikistan is among Russia’s closest strategic partners in the region, where Moscow still maintains a military presence. India’s military support to Central Asia also comes against the backdrop of Russia’s suggestion that New Delhi increase its presence in the region, ostensibly to balance China.

China has been expanding its presence in geographically contiguous Central Asia and has further bolstered its role in the region since the Ukraine war.

Moscow, along with Kazakhstan, also played a significant role in securing India’s membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Indian and Russian official statements have previously referred to joint projects in third countries, including Central Asia.

The Central Asian states have enjoyed goodwill with India since the Soviet era.