India and France to collaborate on fighter and submarine design and production

Digital Desk: Emmanuel Bonne, the French President's visiting diplomatic advisor, will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today as part of a strategic dialogue with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval aimed at making France a key partner in the "Make in India" campaign to manufacture much-needed aircraft engines and long-range submarines.

The 36th India-France Strategic Dialogue will take place this afternoon and will be followed by other high-level exchanges in March. Bonne will also meet with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

While the Modi government remains silent about the talks, India is increasing its self-reliance in weapons and hardware platforms with the support of major allies such as France in the face of escalating militarization by China, while once-essential supplier Russia is engaged in the Ukraine crisis.

India seeks not only a one-to-one transfer of technology for the manufacture of aircraft engines to power its indigenous twin-engine fighter but also the design and development of next-generation high-powered military and civilian engines for future fighter and transport platforms. 

The Tata Group has already partnered with Airbus to produce the C295 tactical transport aircraft in Vadodara, Gujarat. In a collaborative venture with France, this line will be expanded into other civilian and military aircraft manufacturers.

With the Kalveri (French Scorpene) class submarine line delivering its final submarine this year, India is looking to France to continue constructing diesel attack submarines at Mumbai dockyards with indigenous air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems for long endurance.

This week, India and France will meet in Paris to discuss the Indo-Pacific. To maintain marine domain awareness and security, the two allies have formed a trilateral grouping with the UAE. India and France are also exchanging space technology in order to counter China's rapid advances.

Doval and Bonne will also discuss increased radicalization in the area, notably in the Af-Pak region, with the establishment of the Taliban, as well as terrorism emanating from Pakistan with India as the objective.

Despite China's constant assistance to Islamabad, India was able to blacklist numerous Pakistan-based terrorists by the 1267 Sanctions Committee thanks to the support of critical allies such as France and the United States. Furthermore, at the request of Pakistan, France and the United States opposed Chinese attempts to identify Indian engineers working in Afghanistan as terrorists.

Doval will brief Bonne on the PLA posture along the 3488 km Line of Actual Control (LAC) during the strategic meeting, and the two leaders will also discuss how to bring both Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table to conclude a conflict that began in February 2022.