Anil Ambani Makes Historic Move in Rs 5 Trillion Market

Key Highlights

• Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infrastructure plans entry into the ₹5 trillion defence aviation market, signaling major strategic shift.
• Shares of Reliance Infra surged ~46% in a month to hit a one‑year high after the defence market move reports .

Anil Ambani's Reliance Infrastructure will now expand into the defense sector. The company's priority will be aircraft improvement programmes. The company expects to receive opportunities worth Rs 5,000 crore over the next 7 to 10 years. The company wants to be the first private company in India to improve aircraft. Until now, this work was performed by government agencies and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). The global market for upgrading military aircraft and helicopters is worth more than Rs 5 lakh crore annually.

Anil Ambani's Reliance Group's Reliance Infrastructure will play a significant role in the defense sector, with a focus on modernizing aircraft. The company is expected to generate significant profits in the coming years and is on track to become the first private company in this sector.

According to a company source, they recently completed a project with HAL in collaboration with Genesis, a US company. In this project, they upgraded 55 Dornier-228 aircraft.

Earlier, the company was awarded a contract to upgrade 37 aircraft. After doing good work, the company received an order for 18 more aircraft. According to sources, the entire project of upgrading Dornier cost Rs 350 crore.

The upgraded Dornier aircraft have been deployed with the Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, and Indian Coast Guard. Military aircraft and helicopters have a lifespan of approximately 30-40 years, so they must be upgraded on a regular basis. It is especially important to replace their avionics, mission systems, and security equipment.

Also Read: Anil Ambani Leads Reliance Infra's Bold Step: Plans Rs 3,000 Crore Defense Exports

The global market for upgrading military aircraft and helicopters exceeds Rs 5,00,000 crore each year, and it is expected to reach Rs 7,00,000 crore over the next seven years.

India has a large number of old aircraft. As a result, this field offers numerous opportunities. The Indian Army is also focusing on modernizing its older aircraft.

Reliance Infrastructure intends to expand its capacity to upgrade aircraft and helicopters. For this, the company collaborates closely with companies all over the world. Aside from upgrading Dornier, the company is collaborating with France's Thales on the Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) program for Rafale fighter jets in India.