Data Patterns, Astra Microwave, Bharat Dynamics: What TPCR-2025, Sudarshan Chakra project mean for defence players

Data show that the Nifty India Defence index has rallied 44% in the past six months and nearly 26% in the past one year.

The Nifty India Defence Index aims to track the performance of a portfolio of stocks that broadly represent the defence theme. The index currently has 18 constituents, such as Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Bharat Dynamics, Cochin Shipyard, GRSE, BEML, and Paras Defence, among others.

Recent key announcements

In his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2025, PM Modi announced a project, "Sudarshan Chakra", to develop an indigenous air-defence system to protect India's vital military and civilian installations and deliver a decisive response to any enemy threat, a move that came amid concerns over security challenges emanating from Pakistan and China.

Experts said it could be on the lines of Israel's Iron Dome all-weather air-defence system, known as a very effective missile shield.

Announcing the launch of "Mission Sudarshan Chakra", Modi said it will be aimed at neutralising enemy threats and enhancing India's offensive capabilities.

Besides, in early September 2025, the Ministry of Defence unveiled the technology perspective capability roadmap (TPCR-2025) for the next 15 years.

TPCR-2025 is India's 15-year strategic plan for modernising its armed forces, focusing on the acquisition of advanced technology and enhancing self-reliance in defence manufacturing.

The primary goal of TPCR-2025 is to steer the potential path of the Indian defence industry towards technological growth and development, aligning it with the long-term modernisation plans of the Armed Forces. The document serves as a crucial document for industry players to plan their R&D, partnerships, and production agreements to meet future strategic needs.

What analysts say

Shubham Dalia, a research analyst at InCred Equities, notes that India urgently needs prioritised investment in air and space defence systems to close operational seams, as a few long-range batteries cannot substitute for a geographically distributed architecture across a two-front geometry, and "we expect overlapping area defence, AWACS plus HAPS/long-endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to be the near-term fix for radar-horizon blind spots."

Dalia adds, "We expect a rapid rollout of AESA upgrades on mission-critical radars, coupled with hardened, distributed sensor fusion and C2 nodes, and so automation drives prioritisation under saturation or EW."

Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar is a multimode, solid-state active phased array fire control radar with scalable architecture that can be adapted for various types of fighter-class aircraft, explains DRDO.

EW stands for Electronic Warfare.

Sudarshan Chakra: Ambitious project

Sudarshan Chakra is an ambitious project. It needs an investment of at least 4 trillion across air defence systems, radars, High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellites (HAPS), Directed-Energy Weapons (DEW), and space, note analysts. The project is to be completed by 2035.

"The project allocates roughly ₹1.8 trillion to layered area defence (QRSAM, KUSHA, and Akash Prime) for geographically distributed interception and ₹1.4 trillion to ground and over-the-horizon sensing (Voronezh OTH, Surya VHF, and Super Swordfish) to eliminate maritime and low-altitude blind spots," notes InCred Equities.

Given this massive project, companies that are likely to benefit are Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Astra Microwave and Data Patterns.

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL)

Shares of HAL have rallied 36% in the past six months. The state-run fighter jet maker, on Tuesday, August 12, reported a net profit of ₹1,384 crore in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY26), marking a decline of 4% from ₹1,437 crore in the same period last year.

The Bengaluru-based company's revenue from operations advanced 11% to ₹4,819 crore in the April-June period from ₹4,348 crore in the year-ago period.

Hindustan Aeronautics reported strong operational performance as its operating profit, also known as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), jumped 30% to ₹1,282 crore from ₹990 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Its operating profit margin improved by 380 basis points to 26.61% from 22.78%.

Bharat Dynamics

Shares of the company have jumped around 44% in the past six months. It reported a 157% jump in its net profit at ₹18 crore on Tuesday, August 12, for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, as compared to ₹7 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.

The state-run defence firm’s revenue from operations stood at ₹248 crore in Q1 FY26 as against ₹191 crore, clocking a growth of 30%.

On the operational level, Bharat Dynamics posted a net EBITDA loss of ₹45 crore in the reporting quarter in contrast to an EBITDA loss of ₹52 crore in Q1 FY25.

Bharat Electronics (BEL)

Shares of the company have rallied over over 43% in the past six months.

State-run aerospace and defence electronics player Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) recorded a 22.61% increase in its consolidated net profit attributable to owners of the company at ₹969.91 crore in the first quarter of the financial year 2025-26, the company said in an exchange filing on Monday, July 28.

It had posted a post-tax profit of ₹791 crore a year back.

Its revenue from operations climbed 4.62% to ₹4,439.74 crore in Q1 FY26, compared to ₹4,243.57 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.

BEL's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at ₹1,238 crore in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal year, as against ₹948 crore a year. This reflects a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 30.59%.

Astra Microwave Products

Shares of the company have zoomed 75% in the past six months.

The company reported a strong performance in the June quarter, with consolidated net profit rising 126% year-on-year to ₹16.3 crore from ₹7.2 crore.

Revenue from operations jumped 28.7% to ₹199.7 crore against ₹155.2 crore in Q1 FY25, helped by strong execution and operational efficiencies.

EBITDA grew 70.4% to ₹41 crore from ₹24 crore, while margins improved to 20.5% from 15.5% in the same period last year. India accounted for 90.1% of total revenue, with exports contributing 9.9%.

Data Patterns

Shares have skyrocketed 72% in the past six months.

Data Patterns (India) Ltd reported a profit after tax (PAT) of ₹25.50 crore for the April-June 2025 quarter, the company said.

The defence and aerospace electronics systems provider earned a profit after tax (PAT) of ₹32.79 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year.

For the year ending March 31, 2025, the net profit stood at ₹221.81 crore.

The order book position stood at ₹1,079 crore.