Synopsis: Larsen & Toubro’s defence business has quietly evolved into one of India’s most comprehensive private-sector military platforms. Spanning land, naval, aerospace, electronics, and autonomous systems. This article explores what L&T actually builds for defence and how meaningful the business has become financially.
Larsen & Toubro is widely known for building roads, metros, and large industrial projects, but a quieter and far more strategic business has been taking shape in the background. As India’s defence push accelerates and private players gain scale, L&T has emerged as a key contributor across multiple military domains. What exactly does the company do in defence, and how big is this business really?
What Does Larsen & Toubro Do in Defence?
Defence remains central to L&T’s strategy. The company’s defence arm, earlier known as L&T Defence, was rebranded as L&T Precision Engineering and Systems to reflect a sharper focus on emerging technologies such as advanced manufacturing, electronics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous platforms. Its defence operations now span land systems, naval platforms including submarines and warships, space programmes, and research-driven indigenisation, with a strong emphasis on indigenous design and the creation of Indian intellectual property, even as it competes alongside state-run players in several segments.
Land Platforms, Equipment and Systems
Larsen & Toubro is one of the most deeply entrenched private-sector players in India’s land defence ecosystem, with end-to-end capabilities spanning design, development, manufacturing, integration, and lifecycle support. The company supplies systems of strategic importance to the Indian Army, covering artillery, armoured platforms, air defence, combat engineering, and mobility solutions. Unlike many suppliers that operate only as component vendors, L&T works closely with DRDO and the armed forces from the concept stage through deployment, ensuring its platforms are tailored for Indian operational conditions and terrain diversity.
In armoured and artillery systems, L&T has built a strong portfolio of indigenous and collaborative platforms. This includes the Indian Light Tank, a 25-ton modular platform jointly developed with CVRDE, designed to operate seamlessly across plains, deserts, riverine areas, and high-altitude regions, and capable of integrating new technologies over time.
The company also produces the BvS-10 “Sindhu”, an articulated all-terrain vehicle adapted for Indian conditions, offering multiple mission configurations such as troop transport, command posts, ambulances, counter-drone roles, and mortar platforms. In artillery, L&T delivers the K9 Vajra-T, a tracked self-propelled gun customised for Indian requirements in partnership with Hanwha Defence, as well as the Trajan 155 mm towed gun system developed alongside KNDS of France.
Air defence and combat engineering form another critical pillar of L&T’s land systems portfolio. The company supplies advanced solutions such as the Tratr 40 mm air defence gun, capable of all-weather, round-the-clock operations with electro-optical fire control, ECCM capability, and unmanned turret safety features. It also manufactures naval variants like the Teevra 40 mm turret and integrated systems such as the Sudarshan Close-In Air Defence System, which combines radars, guns, and automated threat evaluation software to protect critical assets. Beyond new platforms, L&T plays a major role in life extension and upgrades of legacy equipment including BMP vehicles, air defence guns, and rocket systems, while also delivering bridging systems and radar engineering structures that support India’s mobile and network-centric warfare capabilities.
Marine Platforms, Equipment and Systems
L&T has spent more than three decades quietly building some of India’s most sensitive and complex naval platforms, particularly in the underwater domain. The company is a long-standing build partner to DRDO for submarines and advanced subsea systems, and today possesses comprehensive in-house capabilities for submarine design, construction, refit, modernisation, and lifecycle support. With specialised facilities at Hazira and Kattupalli and CMMI Level-3 certified processes, L&T supports the Indian Navy not only with hardware but also with training infrastructure and simulators essential for operating in extreme underwater environments.
A key differentiator for L&T is its focus on indigenous underwater platforms and training ecosystems. The company has designed and delivered the Submarine Escape Training Tower and advanced damage control and fire-fighting simulators, allowing naval crews to train for emergency scenarios in safe but realistic conditions. L&T has also developed a Special Operations Vessel (SOV), a compact diesel-electric midget submarine equipped with torpedo tubes, sonar systems, and advanced electronic sensors, enabling covert missions and special forces deployment. These platforms reflect L&T’s evolution from a manufacturing partner to a full-spectrum naval systems integrator.
Alongside manned platforms, L&T is investing heavily in autonomous and ship-borne systems. Its range of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles includes Amogh for deep-water hydrographic surveys, Adamya for covert submarine-launched missions, and Maya, India’s first field-deployed AUV platform adapted for multiple environments. The company also supplies expendable underwater targets for ASW training. On surface vessels, L&T delivers helicopter handling and traversing systems, waterjet propulsion units for high-speed littoral operations, shafting systems, sonar domes, and integrated ship equipment. Together, these capabilities make L&T one of the few Indian firms able to supply both platforms and mission-critical marine subsystems under one roof.
Aerospace Systems
L&T’s aerospace and space credentials are built on over five decades of collaboration with ISRO, DRDO, and the Ministry of Defence, during which it has supplied mission-critical subsystems for launch vehicles, satellites, aircraft, and unmanned platforms. In the space domain, the company has been a key contributor since the early SLV programmes of the 1970s and today manufactures a wide range of launch vehicle hardware, including rocket motor casings, interstage structures, payload fairings, honeycomb deck panels, and major elements of the Gaganyaan crew escape system. L&T also supports launch operations through last-mile integration activities at Sriharikota.
Beyond launch vehicles, L&T plays a vital role in satellite subsystems and deep-space infrastructure. It manufactures deployment mechanisms, satellite structures, and high-precision components, and has executed complex ground systems for multiple GSAT missions. The company has also delivered advanced navigation and tracking infrastructure such as the 32-metre deep-space antenna at Byalalu and precision monopulse tracking radars used for launch and re-entry operations. Its engineering expertise extends to ground testing facilities, including hypersonic wind tunnels, shock tunnels, engine test facilities, and participation in global scientific projects like the Thirty Meter Telescope.
In aeronautics and unmanned systems, L&T supplies complex aero-structures and subsystems for fighter aircraft, helicopters, and UAVs, working with exotic alloys, composites, and high-precision manufacturing techniques. Its portfolio includes wings, fuselages, control surfaces, rotor systems, and mechatronic assemblies. The company has also developed indigenous UAV platforms such as the TEER and Abhyas aerial targets for air defence training, as well as tactical UAVs designed for high-altitude and future naval applications. Collectively, these capabilities position L&T as a cornerstone of India’s military aerospace and space ambitions.
Electronics Products and Systems
Electronics is the connective tissue that binds L&T’s defence platforms into fully networked combat systems. The company has developed strong in-house expertise across radars, telemetry, tracking, communications, command-and-control, avionics, and electronic warfare-related systems. L&T designs and manufactures air defence radars, early warning radars, fire control radars, and instrumentation radars, with core technologies such as RF systems, antennas, and processors developed internally. These systems are deployed across space, land, air, and naval platforms for ISRO, DRDO, and the armed forces.
In tactical communications, L&T delivers secure, battlefield-ready networks that support modern, mobile warfare. Its offerings include tactical communication systems, rapid deployment communication systems, and Network-in-a-Box solutions that provide encrypted 4G/LTE connectivity for military and disaster response operations. The company also supplies Integrated Platform Management Systems for naval vessels, enabling real-time monitoring of propulsion, power, damage control, and onboard systems through redundant, standards-compliant architectures. These systems are already deployed on destroyers, frigates, tankers, and auxiliary ships.
L&T’s electronics portfolio further extends into command systems, avionics, life-support, and NBC protection. Its iTACS-N naval command system integrates sensors and weapons to support threat evaluation and decision-making, while its avionics and cockpit systems equip fighter aircraft and helicopters with reliable standby instrumentation and control interfaces. In collaboration with DRDO, L&T has also developed indigenous chemical and nuclear detection systems for land and naval use, capable of detecting chemical agents and radiation in real time. These electronics capabilities underline L&T’s role not just as a platform builder, but as a systems integrator powering India’s shift toward network-centric and self-reliant defence capabilities.
How Much Money Are They Making?
Order Book and Revenue Visibility
L&T’s defence business sits within the Hi-Tech Manufacturing segment, which includes Precision Engineering and Systems (PES) and Heavy Engineering. Order inflows in Q2 FY26 were lower due to timing-related deferrals across both businesses, but overall visibility remains strong. As of September 2025, the segment’s order book stood at Rs 391 billion, with Precision Engineering contributing Rs 328 billion and Heavy Engineering Rs 62 billion. Looking ahead, the near-term order prospect pipeline is estimated at around Rs 315 billion, including Rs 251 billion from Precision Engineering and Rs 64 billion from Heavy Engineering, providing a solid base for future execution.
Revenue Growth and Margins
Despite the softer order inflow during the quarter, the Hi-Tech Manufacturing segment delivered healthy revenue growth. Segment revenue was approximately Rs 28 billion, marking a 33 percent year-on-year increase, driven by steady execution across both Precision Engineering and Heavy Engineering. Margin performance was mixed, with Heavy Engineering benefiting from improved operational efficiencies, while Precision Engineering margins were relatively lower due to a higher proportion of early-stage defence projects and costs associated with ongoing development programmes.
Defence Within L&T’s Overall Business Mix
In the broader context, L&T generated Rs 1,31,662 crore, or around USD 14.9 billion, from seven business segments in the first six months of the fiscal. Infrastructure accounted for roughly 46 percent of this revenue, followed by IT services and energy projects at about 20 percent each, while the remaining 14 percent came from hi-tech manufacturing, financial services, development projects, and other businesses including real estate. Defence is housed under Precision Engineering and Systems, which reported revenue of Rs 6,060 crore last year, and in the first six months of the current fiscal, PES revenue rose sharply by 53 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,760 crore, highlighting the fast-growing contribution of defence-led manufacturing within L&T.
Defence Scale and Industry Positioning
Management continues to highlight defence as a strategically important growth area. According to Arun T. Ramchandani, Senior Vice President and Head of Precision Engineering and Systems, L&T has scaled its defence operations to work towards a USD 1 billion revenue business, with about 95 percent of defence revenues generated domestically. At this scale, only three Indian defence companies would be larger in revenue terms: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd with Rs 30,980.9 crore, Bharat Electronics Ltd at Rs 23,658 crore, and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd with Rs 11,431.9 crore.
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