Kamal Ghorui
Bengaluru: Defence minister Rajnath Singh with French counterpart Catherine Vautrin during the 6th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue, in Bengaluru. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday asked his French counterpart, minister of the armed forces and veterans affairs of France Catherine Vautrin, “to raise India-made component” in the upcoming deal for 114 Rafale fighter jets “by up to 50%”, defence sources told TOI.During their 6th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue in Bengaluru, Rajnath also told Vautrin to “try to ensure that the engines of the (fighter) planes are made and overhauled in India. This will help our ‘Make-in-India’ effort,” the sources quoted the minister as saying.
The two ministers also discussed a range of bilateral security and defence issues, including priority areas for co-development and co-production of defence equipment. India and France also renewed their defence cooperation agreement for another 10 years, announced reciprocal deployment of army officers, and inked a pact to manufacture Hammer missiles in India. An MoU on JV was signed for the manufacturing of Hammer missiles by defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited CMD and executive vice-president of Safran Electronics and Defence.Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and France’s Safran company will form a JV to produce Hammer precision-guided munitions, used during Operation Sindoor, in India.Earlier, Rajnath and Vautrin attended the inaugural ceremony of the H125 Light Utility Helicopter final assembly line, jointly built by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and Airbus at Karnataka’s Vemagal, when PM Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron virtually inaugurated the facility from Mumbai.After the facility inauguration, Modi said, “We take pride in the fact that, together, India and France will manufacture in India the world’s only helicopter capable of flying to the heights of Mount Everest and export it to the entire world.” The delivery of the first ‘Made in India’ H125 is expected in early 2027 and the helicopter will help meet the requirements of the Indian armed forces for a light multi-role helicopter and will essentially contribute to army operations on the icy heights of the Himalayas. Rajnath said the total investment for the H125 project is expected to exceed Rs 1,000 crore and create direct and indirect employment.In the presence of Modi in Mumbai, Macron said, “From Rafale jets to submarines, we are expanding defence cooperation. India and France are also working together to build a helicopter assembly line and fifth-gen fighter jet engines.”The President’s remark came days after Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisition Council gave the go-ahead for purchase of 114 Rafale jets from France. After Tuesday’s meet between Modi and Macron, the cost negotiations between two sides for the upcoming Rafale deal will get a big push and the agreement will be inked after the Cabinet’s clearance in near future.With Macron also talking about defence collaboration on submarines, India may buy additional Scorpene-class conventional submarines from France. India had already acquired six Scorpene-class submarines (Kalvari class) from France under the Project 75 programme.The French defence minister appreciated the conversion of Exercise Shakti with the Army from biennial to an annual event.During the meeting, Rajnath also raised the issue of Pakistan terrorism. He said Pakistan has a long history of nurturing, nourishing, and promoting cross-border terrorism to create disturbance and violence in India. This, he said, has created a serious threat to peace in the region.
