India’s reassessment of its air defense requirements after Operation Sindoor has created South Korea’s strongest opportunity in years to expand defense exports to one of the world’s largest military markets. But success will depend on whether Korean firms can overcome the procurement and localization hurdles that have stalled previous projects.

The four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025 reinforced a lesson already emerging from Ukraine and the Middle East: inexpensive drones and loitering munitions can place costly, centralized air defense systems under sustained pressure.

As militaries adapt, demand is shifting toward layered defenses that combine long-range interceptors with