DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN INDIA AND FRANCE POISED FOR ADVANCEMENTS IN PRIME MINISTER MODI AND PRESIDENT MACRON TALKS-HAIL PROGRESS IN PIONEERING MRO FOR LEAP, RAFALE ENGINE, SCORPENE SUBS
- Ananya Sharma
- Feb 13, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 5, 2024
Hello, Everyone!
As we all know French President Emmanuel Macron visited India to grace the Republic Day celebrations as well as to have talks with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (25th January 2024). Both leading dignitaries held talks on Thursday (25th January 2024) and Friday (26th January 2024).
So let’s have a detailed analysis of the official talks between the two leading dignitaries. But before focusing on the prime talks let’s just first have a background of the same.
THE BACKGROUND
HORIZON 2047{PATHWAY FOR CONSOLIDATING BILATERAL RELATIONS BETWEEN INDIA AND FRANCE}:-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Paris on (13th July 2023 -14th July 2023) a post invitation by the French President Emmanuel Macron as a chief guest at the Bastille Day Parade. The year 2023 was symbolic of 25 years of India-France strategic partnership.
Last year Prime Minister Modi held official talks with President Macron and to signify the 25th anniversary of the India-France strategic partnership, both countries collaborated to go ahead with a roadmap to pave the way for the bilateral relationship up to 2047 namely Horizon2047.
Under this roadmap, there are ways and initiatives to further strengthen strategic partnerships and strengthen cooperation in various aspects of the future such as defense and security, International peace, trade, clean energy, migration of students as well as professionals, and ways to combat problems faced by our Earth i.e. climate change, terrestrial and marine biodiversity loss, poverty and changes due to emerging technologies.
The Horizon 2047- The roadmap for bilateral relations has three pillars:
1. Partnership for security and sovereignty
2. Partnership for the planet
3. Partnership for the people
Let’s have a look at the key takeaways of the first pillar of the roadmap i.e. Partnership for security and sovereignty.
1. For the expansion of the autonomous defense and technological base France is one of India’s primary partners.
2. Both countries are dedicated to helping with co-development, and co-production of advanced defense technologies which are incorporated for the advantage of third countries.
3. Resonating with the remarkable partnership in military aviation lasting from five decades India and France accepted delivery of 36 Rafael in time.
4. The countries will co-develop combat aircraft engines which will symbolize their advancement in remarkable defense cooperation in advanced aeronautical technologies.
5. India and France will shore up industrial cooperation for the motorization of heavy-lift helicopters under the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) Programme with Safran Helicopter Engine, France has agreed to engine development.
6. India and France marked the successful accomplishment of the maiden Scorpene Submarine Program(P-75 Kalvari) which is a model of the Make In India initiative, and also the exchange of naval prowess between the companies of the two countries.
7. For the expansion of the Indian Submarine fleet and its performance India and France are all set to pioneer more challenging projects.
8. The contract has been inked between Safran Helicopter Engine and HAL for the transfer of technology of Forging and Casting of the Shakti engine which symbolizes the French undertaking to boost technology transfer and Make in India. The contract is an illustration of a defense industrial partnership firmly established in mutual trust. Another instance of a defense industrial partnership is the MoU between Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE), and Naval Group France, a frontrunner in the European Naval Defense Industry.This partnership envisions collaborating in Surface Ship Development , addressing the requirements of naval forces in India and worldwide.
9. To increase the defense industrial partnership between the two countries India is setting up a Technical Office of the DRDO at its Embassy in Paris.
Now without further ado let's have a detailed analysis of the talks held.
MRO FOR LEAP ENGINE BY SAFRAN AND MRO FOR RAFALE ENGINE
To further strengthen defense industrial partnership India and France on Friday (26th January 2024) sanctioned advancement in the MRO(MAINTAINENCE REPAIR OVERHAUL) facility for LEAP (Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion) engines in India to ascertain safekeeping, productivity and robustness of the aircraft for its sound operation and addition of MRO for Rafale engine are in both countries’ line of action as stated by the joint statement proposed by the two countries.
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY HELICOPTER PARTNERSHIP WITH A JOINT VENTURE FOR IMRH ENGINE BETWEEN HAL AND FRANCE-BASED SAFRAN
The joint statements further detail a multi-disciplinary helicopter partnership with an affiliation for the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter(IMRH) engine between HAL and France-based Safran helicopter engine, and SCORPENE Submarine made in India, using indigenization- the potential of building and manufacturing any defense equipment within the country to achieve self-dependency and to minimize the burden caused by imports. A self-reliant defense industrial and technological base is what India envisions developing with France’s partnership.
{HAL on Nov 10, 2023, quoted that it has established an affiliation can say a joint venture (JV) with France–based SAFRAN HELICOPTER ENGINE under the name ”SAFHAL HELICOPTER ENGINES PRIVATE LIMITED”. According to a statement from HAL, the JV will design, develop, certify, produce, sell, and support helicopter engines.}
The joint statement was released after the official talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President and guest of honor for the Republic Day Celebrations Emmanuel Macron.
Link for the joint statement:-
JOINT STATEMENT KEY TAKEAWAYS:-
1. DELIBERATIONS BETWEEN DRDO AND DGA AND MOU TO BE INKED WELL IN TIME
In line with the joint statement, India and France also gave a green signal for the deliberations between India’s DRDO – (India’s premier agency under the Department Of Defense Research and Development in Ministry of Defense of the Indian government) and France’s DGA-(French Procurement agency which pioneers in the building of defense systems and armament missions by leveraging its testing and expertise test centers spanning across France) and aim to ink an Arrangement MOU well in time.
2. ROADMAP ON DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION ASSENTED AND PM MODI’S PLEDGE TO STRENGTHEN TIES BETWEEN DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL SECTORS OF INDIA AND FRANCE
Also, the two countries have assented to a roadmap on Defense Industrial Cooperation, which was furthermore detailed in the joint statement saying that President Macron and Prime Minister Modi restated their pledge to strengthen the ties between both the country’s respective defense industrial sectors and collaboratively work to discover challenges for collaboratively plan, build and manufacture to accommodate defense requirements of the Indian Armed Forces and also to help with a legitimate and credible reserve of defense supplies to other friendly countries as well.
3. ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT MISSION POISED FOR SUCCESS BY DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION FROM THE DESIGN LEVEL
As per the joint statement, PM Modi and President Macron agreed with the fact that collaboration in the defense and industrial sector particularly from the design level will mark effective job opportunities for the young generation and a great development in the science, technology, digital, and material data science realms to attain the goals of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
4. THE INDIA –FRANCE PARTNERSHIP IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION HAS GROUNDS FOR A DEFENCE AND SECURITY PARTNERSHIP
According to the joint statement India-France partnership in the Indo-Pacific region has an all-encompassing sector of bilateral, multinational, regional, and institutional initiatives; has its foundation laid on the defense and security partnership, particularly in the Indian Ocean.
5. STRENGTHENING INDIA-FRANCE COOPERATION IN THE SOUTH WEST INDIAN OCEAN AND ALSO GIVING A GREEN SIGNAL FOR THE EXTENSION OF BILATERAL DIALOGUE
President Macron and Prime Minister Modi acceded to boost their cooperation in the Southwest Indian Ocean, furthermore noted to build joint surveillance missions deployed from the French La reunion (An island in the Indian Ocean which is an Overseas department and region of France) territory in 2022 and 2022 by the time both the countries welcomed the breakthrough in bilateral dialogue (official talks between the two countries)and to figure out distinct opportunities for the manufacture of defense equipment indigenously and export of defense equipment for friendly countries in the region.
An example of common –monitoring missions carried out from the French Island territory of La Reunion is when both countries co-monitored under which Indian Navy P-81martitime surveillance aircraft were stationed to the French Island territory of La Reunion.
6. INDIA AND FRANCE PLAN TO SPAN THEIR COOPERATION IN THE INDIAN MARITIME NEIGHBOURHOOD
In line with strengthening India-France cooperation in the South West India Ocean both countries considerably plan to span their cooperation in the Indian Maritime Neighbourhood which will play a pivotal role in safeguarding strategic seaways of communication.
7. INDIA AND FRANCE’S COLLABORATION ON ENGINE DEVELOPMENT FOR FIFTH GENERATION AIRCRAFT-THE ADVANCED MEDIUM COMBAT AIRCRAFT
Under the pillar Partnership for security and sovereignty of The Horizon 2047- The roadmap for bilateral relations, India and France in the future will take their unparalleled defense cooperation to a new level. Last year PM Modi visited France and had details regarding the joint development of the engine development of the aircraft. At that time, the two countries also stated that India and France would shore up industrial cooperation for the motorization of heavy-lift helicopters under the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) Programme with Safran Helicopter Engine, France has agreed to engine development and also added that a Shareholder’s agreement had been inked between India’s HAL and France’s Safran Helicopter engine for engine development.
In a view to making this happen India and France had a dialogue over the co-development of the engine for India’s fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat aircraft.
US FIGHTER JET ENGINE DEAL WITH INDIA’S HAL AND US’S GE AEROSPACE TO COMMENCE THIS YEAR
India and the US are all set for the co-development of the F-414 engine having to do coating for the hot end of the engine, crystal blades, and laser drilling technology. The engines will enable the Mk2 version of the Light Combat Aircraft as well as initial batches of AMCA.
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