The Strategic Level

NEW BILATERAL PACTS COULD TAKE THE DEFENCE RELATIONSHIP WITH FRANCE INTO A STRATEGIC SPHERE EVEN AS FRENCH FIRMS COMPLAIN ABOUT THE SLOW PROGRESS OF CONTRACTS IN SOUTH BLOCK

- Sandeep Unnithan

THE INDO-FRENCH STRATEGIC partnership that concluded 20 years ago, soon after India’s nuclear tests in May 1998, stands on a triad—cooperation in the defence, space and civil-nuclear fields. Over the years, however, defence cooperation has largely been confined to regular military exercises between the armies, navies and air forces of the two countries and off-the-shelf purchases of military hardware. From Mirage fighters in the 1980s to, more recently, Rafale fighter jets and the licenced manufacture of French Scorpene class submarines, a deal for which was signed in 2005, things have never looked as good for defence ties. As President Emmanuel Macron heads to New Delhi on a historic first visit, he will note that Dassault’s production line in Bordeaux has started assembling the first Indian Rafale fighter jets, part of a September 2016 deal for 36 Rafale jets worth €7.87 billion. The Mazagon Dock submarine production line in Mumbai recently floated out the second of six French-designed Scorpene class submarines. France is one of India’s top five suppliers of military hardware.

Both Rafale and Scorpene address critical gaps in India’s defence modernisation—the Indian Air Force (IAF) is desperately short of modern fighters to replace its retiring jets while the navy needs modern submarines to fill in the gaps left by its ageing Soviet-origin undersea platforms. The 16th edition of the annual Indo-French naval exercise, Varuna, begins off the west coast of India in the Arabian Sea on March 15. While the hardware sales are likely to continue as the most visible signs of the relationship, the defence partnership between the two countries is poised to move to the next level during President Macron’s visit.