US DIA 2025 Threat Assessment: India’s Security Outlook
Why in the news
The US Defense Intelligence Agency’s worldwide threat assessment for 2025 described India’s strategic outlook, even after the latest cross-border flare-up with Pakistan.
Key facts
- China: India’s primary adversary; Pakistan: an ancillary problem to be managed.
- Mid-May clashes followed the Pahalgam terror attack (April 22, 2025) and India’s Operation Sindoor, with confrontations over three days.
- Under PM Modi, India stresses global leadership, countering China and military strengthening, plus “Made in India” defence production.
| Area | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Missiles | Tests of Agni-I Prime MRBM and Agni-V MIRV |
| Navy | Second nuclear-powered submarine commissioned, adding to the nuclear triad |
| Indian Ocean Region | Defence partnerships via drills, training, information sharing, arms sales |
| Forums | Quad, BRICS, SCO, ASEAN |
| China | October 2024 disengagement at Depsang and Demchok; boundary dispute unresolved, 2020 Galwan clash lingers |
| Russia | Ties kept for economic and defence needs; Russian-origin purchases falling but spares still needed for tanks and fighter jets |
Pakistan’s posture
- Military modernisation and battlefield nuclear weapons to offset India’s conventional edge.
- DIA suspects it bought goods relevant to weapons of mass destruction through foreign intermediaries.
Exam angle
- Agni-V test involved MIRV technology.
- Operation Sindoor followed the Pahalgam attack.