India’s Military Jugaad: From Battlefield Fix to Export Opportunity

New Delhi: As India pushes to expand defence exports, it should also market a less publicised strength: the military’s unmatched jugaad – its ability to improvise cost-effective, adaptable fixes to upgrade and sustain a wide array of equipment.

For militaries that can’t afford cutting-edge Western systems, India’s jugaad-driven approach offers a distinct niche: reasonably priced, battle-tested, resource-efficient alternatives to meet operational needs.

Veterans and defence analysts argue that India’s knack for stretching limited budgets to deliver battlefield capability is highly exportable – especially to developing nations with similar constraints. There is growing interest in refurbished air defence systems, upgraded Soviet-era platforms, and low-cost ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) solutions that blend components from diverse sources.

India’s experience with retrofitting legacy platforms offers a viable model

Many militaries across Africa, Latin America, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia face the same problems that shaped India’s jugaad ethos: tight budgets, aging inventories, unreliable supply chains, and politically fraught procurement. These countries are not necessarily looking for next-gen weapons – but for maintainable, effective systems that won’t strain their defence budgets.

India’s experience with retrofitting legacy platforms like the 1960s-era MiG-21 ‘Bis’, modularising battlefield electronics, developing simulators, and integrating Israeli, French, Russian, and indigenous systems offers a viable model.

Military technicians from the armed forces, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), and DRDO have extended the life of Cold War-era Soviet air defence systems, which performed effectively during last month’s Operation Sindoor alongside modern platforms.

Indigenous systems like the Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher, the Dhanush 155mm/45-calibre howitzer, and the ALH Rudra helicopter embody the jugaad mindset – melding domestic engineering with imported subsystems to produce efficient, cost-effective weapon platforms.

Rudra combines a locally built airframe with Indian Helina anti-tank missiles and French Mistral air-to-air missiles. Pinaka integrates indigenous engineering with imported subsystems to deliver a powerful, modular system adaptable to many battlefield needs.

Dhanush represents a smart upgrade of the 1980s-era Bofors FH-77B howitzer, retrofitted with modern electronics and locally sourced components. By enhancing a proven system, Indian engineers created an affordable artillery piece with renewed battlefield relevance.

“India should showcase and export its jugaad capabilities, which remain unparalleled,” said Brigadier Rahul Bhonsle (Retd) of New Delhi-based Security Risks consultancy. He called jugaad the indigenous defence industry’s core strength, arguing it offers economical alternatives to nations struggling with expensive system replacements.

Still, Bhonsle warned that jugaad in its current form lacks the standardisation and documentation needed for global exports. To become a serious exporter of adaptive military technology, India must transform jugaad from ad hoc innovation into a certifiable, modular, and globally compliant framework.

Industry experts agree. Manuals, upgrade protocols, and implementation documentation are needed to make jugaad export-ready. Collaborations between start-ups, MSMEs, DRDO, armed forces technicians, and the corporatised Ordnance Factory Board could help formalise the process.

Western militaries operate under strict rules on certification and IP compliance—standards that improvised fixes often breach. Even India’s celebrated upgrades to the Su-30MKI, integrating French and Indian missiles with Israeli EW systems and helmet-mounted sights, would violate OEM contracts in most Western countries.

Nevertheless, India’s ability to keep over 290 ageing Chetak and Cheetah helicopters flying in Siachen at 14,000 feet – far beyond the original design envelope – is a striking example of battlefield ingenuity.

How jugaad helped India during past conflicts

During the 1999 Kargil War, the IAF rapidly armed Mirage 2000H fighters with Indian-made 1,000 lb precision-guided bombs, achieving devastating accuracy. Earlier, Indian defence technicians had quietly helped the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan maintain and overhaul its Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters – critical assets in the fight against the Taliban.

On land, Soviet-era BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles were upgraded with thermal sights and night-fighting capabilities. DRDO engineers repurposed the BMP-2 chassis to build the MUNTRA series of unmanned ground vehicles for surveillance, mine detection, and NBC operations – keeping troops out of high-risk zones.

Likewise, the T-72 ‘Ajeya’ tanks were retrofitted with Israeli and Indian thermal imagers and night sights, despite lacking the original design provisions. The P-18 early warning radar from the 1970s was modernised with Indian-built digital processors and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems.

Naval aviation saw similar upgrades. The licence-built Dornier Do-228, a German design from the 1980s, was retrofitted with EO pods for coastal surveillance, creating real-time ISTAR capability. These low-cost aircraft now supplement the Indian Navy’s expensive P-8I Poseidons.

In conflict zones like Kashmir, the Northeast, and Punjab, the Army turned civilian vehicles – tractors, Maruti Gypsies, Nissan Jongas – into light armoured vehicles, fitting them with machine guns and communications gear. These improvised platforms, often built in local workshops, were ideal for rugged terrain and counterinsurgency missions.

Also Read: The Wonders of Jugaad in the Indian and Pakistani Militaries

Army engineers also regularly adapted commercial cranes and trucks into mobile bridging systems for flood relief and operations in high-altitude zones – quick, local solutions that proved invaluable during emergencies.

Looking forward, there is significant export potential in jugaad-style life-extension kits, low-cost battlefield management systems, drone jammers, and retrofit packages – particularly for countries still operating Soviet-origin tanks, APCs, and aircraft.

Indian start-ups and state research labs are also blending off-the-shelf components with limited imports to build drones, simulators, and training systems – many of which proved effective during Operation Sindoor.

What this shows is that when jugaad is embedded in a formal engineering framework, it can drive a new model of affordable hybrid innovation. But to scale globally, it must be codified – its ingenuity preserved, but refined into standardised, export-ready packages.

Veterans argue the Ministry of Defence must evolve from a gatekeeper into a facilitator – empowering the private sector, particularly MSMEs and start-ups, to lead in adapting India’s jugaad model for international markets.

That shift requires simplifying procurement rules, speeding up export clearances, and investing in documentation and quality control. Only by cutting red tape and backing Indian innovation can the country transform its battlefield experience into a global defence asset.

But unlocking jugaad’s potential ultimately rests with the MoD – still hampered by bureaucracy and risk aversion. Whether it can rise to the moment remains uncertain.

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