The discussions at the Aero India 2021 show in Bengaluru last week underscored the complexity of India’s regional security matrix and the need to urgently modernise and upgrade its arsenal. Complicating India’s security calculus further is China’s aggressive new posture on the Ladakh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh borders and concern that Pakistan is taking advantage of the opportunity to fish in troubled waters. In this context, our editorial notes that there is little urgency in New Delhi’s approach to equipment modernisation. Instead of raising the military’s modernisation budget for developing capabilities, the allocation for capital spending next year is lower