India today has one of the world's largest military forces: a million men in arms, an air force of more than 800 combat air-craft, a navy with 60 combat vessels, and an inventory of 3,100 tanks. With more than 80 defense production and research units (36 ordnance factories, 8 defense public sector undertakings, and 40 defense research laboratories), India also has one of the largest arms industries in the non-Western world and, at the same time, is among the five largest importers of armaments in the world today.'This is due to the fact that the Indian arms industry still remains a producer of licensed weaponry. Its indigenous arms programs, by and large, have been costly and unsuccessful. Nor has India been able to subsidize its military expenditure through arms exports, as have other middle powers such as Brazil and Israel. This causes concern in New Delhi because the cost of maintaining such a large armed force is becoming unmanageable. The Indian defense budget rose steadily in the 1980s and today stands at a record $9.22 billion. 2 Why does the Indian arms industry have such a mixed track record? India entered arms production for the same politico-military and economic reasons that have spurred other developing countries. These include a de-sire to express national sovereignty, the need to maintain secure supplies in