Astra Microwave is a quiet engineering company that has been building strategic radio-frequency capability for thirty-five years. The defence stocks now in focus all share one feature: they spent a long time building the capability before the policy paid for it. Here is Astra’s journey, year by year.
- Founded in Hyderabad in 1991 to make RF and microwave systems for the armed forces.
- It became one of few Indian firms designing RF sub-systems for radars and missiles, with DRDO as anchor customer.
- It expanded into naval sonar, satellite communication payloads and defence exports.
- By FY25 revenue was around ₹1,050 crore with an order book above ₹2,200 crore, spanning Akash, BrahMos and fighter avionics.
- FY25 Revenue runs around ₹1,050 crore at an operating margin above 10%, with an order book above ₹2,200 crore.
1991 Founded in Hyderabad by B. Malla Reddy, C. Prameelamma and P.A. Chitrakar to manufacture radio-frequency and microwave systems for the Indian armed forces.
2000 It becomes one of the few Indian companies designing and building RF sub-systems for radars and missile electronics, with DRDO as the anchor customer.
2008 The Indian Navy adds sonar and underwater-communications work.
2014 It adds satellite-communication payloads and begins exporting antennas and RF systems to global defence majors.
2020 The order book diversifies across radar, missile, electronic-warfare and space-communication programmes.
2023 Its programmes include Akash, BrahMos, indigenous fighter avionics and naval radars.
2024 The defence-indigenisation thesis re-rates the entire sector.
2025 Defence exports compound, strategic-partnership tenders are won, and anti-drone and electronic-warfare segments scale.
2026 Astra is one of the few listed defence companies with design IP, not just manufacturing capacity.
The pattern is the point
Astra is a quiet engineering company that has been building strategic RF capability for thirty-five years. Like the other defence names now in focus, it spent a long time building the capability before the policy paid for it. Indigenisation does not happen overnight; it happens on the back of three decades of unglamorous design work.
