NEW DELHI, JUN 12 (PTI): As New Delhi looks at bolstering its military might including underwater combat capability against the backdrop of increasing contestation in key maritime zones, India and France are poised to deepen overall defence ties during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the European country beginning Saturday.
France has emerged as a key supplier of military hardware to India and both sides are looking at expediting key military procurement projects such as New Delhi’s decision to acquire more submarines and fighter jets. It is learnt that both sides are likely to speed up negotiations for Indian Navy’s plan to procure three more Scorpene submarines which will be jointly constructed by state-run Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) and French defence major Naval Group.
Though the defence ministry cleared the nearly Rs 36,000 crore deal over two years ago, there have been delays in negotiations to finalise various technical and commercial aspects of the project.
The increasing contestation in the maritime domain including the developments in the Gulf of Oman has reinforced the need for the Indian Navy to expand its underwater capabilities, said a military expert.
Modi will undertake a week-long visit to France and Slovakia from Saturday to participate in the outreach sessions of the G7 Summit and hold bilateral meetings with his French and Slovakin counterparts. Without specifically mentioning any defence project, Additional Secretary (Europe-West) in the Ministry of External Affairs Piyush Srivastava said on Thursday that defence cooperation will figure in talks between Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“France is a trusted partner in defence. We have been looking for increased indigenisation and co-development. I don’t want to talk on one specific proposal or deal, but everything will be discussed over there,” he said at a media briefing.
“The defence ministries are already talking in detail on these proposals,” he said, when asked about specific projects.
Srivastava said India and France have very deep-rooted and strong defence cooperation and the efforts in recent years have been to focus more on developing platforms through co-production, transfer of technology and co-development.
Asked about the plan to procure the three Scorpene submarines as part of a follow-on order, he said “all issues will be discussed. I don’t want to get into any further details than that.”
Under the Indian Navy’s Project 75, six Scorpene submarines have already been constructed by MDL in collaboration with the Naval Group. While India is rapidly scaling up its maritime footprint in the Indian Ocean Region, its underwater combat readiness is severely strained by the looming retirement of legacy submarines and chronic procurement delays.
Though the six new Kalvari-class submarines have injected serious muscle into the fleet, India is losing older boats faster than it can build new ones.
India is also in the process of procuring six stealth submarines. German defence major ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and MDL were holding price negotiations with the defence ministry for an Euro 5 billion deal to supply six stealth submarines to the Indian Navy.
China’s expanding naval footprint in the Indian Ocean, growing submarine deployments, and dual-use maritime infrastructure across the region have further intensified the urgency for India to accelerate submarine induction and capability enhancement, said a military expert.
Modi’s upcoming visit to France could provide the political momentum required to unlock the next phase of India’s submarine modernisation, he said.
Ahead of the prime minister’s trip to France, diplomatic sources said France is looking at taking forward the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) project under the framework of ‘Make-in-India’ and that there should not be any difficulty in integrating Indian weapon systems into the jets.
Under the MRFA project, 18 Rafale will be supplied by French defence major Dassault Aviation in a fly away condition and the rest will be manufactured in India with around 50 per cent indigenous content.
The prime minister will first travel to the French port city of Nice for a bilateral meeting with Macron on June 14.
The two leaders will jointly inaugurate Bharat Innovates, a three-day event being held as part of the India-France Year of Innovation to showcase Indian technology ventures from higher education institutions and centrally funded technical institutes.
From Nice, Modi will then travel to Slovakia for a state visit during June 14-16.
The prime minister will return to France to attend the outreach sessions of the G7 Summit from June 16-17.
In the final leg of the visit, Modi will visit Paris on June 18 for further bilateral engagements, and to attend the VivaTech Summit, Europe’s largest technology and startup event.
