Discussions about Bangladesh's defence sector in public forums typically revolve around two main topics: the purchase of new weapons for enhancing military capabilities and allocations for the defence budget. Questions like how many new aircraft were purchased, how many warships were added to the fleet, and whether the defence budget share has increased or decreased dominate news headlines.

However, one important question often remains unaddressed—does this expenditure create a foundation for any domestic industry, technology, or research within the country?

The answer is not very encouraging. A significant portion of Bangladesh's defence expenditure goes towards purchasing foreign technology and equipment. In the short term, this certainly adds new capabilities, but in the long run, the opportunity to develop domestic technology industries, entrepreneurship, and university research capacity remains untapped.

Yet, since the time of the Second World War, many countries have been using their defence expenditure not only as an investment in security but also as a strategic investment in technology development and industrial growth. It’s time for Bangladesh to adopt this new perspective.