By Siddhant Hira & Moksh Suri
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Paris this week to attend the France Bastille day celebrations as the Guest of Honor. An Indian Army contingent and India’s Rafale fighter jets will be taking part in the parade celebrations. PM Modi’s visit will commemorate the 25th anniversary of establishment of the Franco-Indian strategic partnership. Over the past two decades, both states have expanded their ties into a multi domain strategic partnership. France along with Russia were the sole UN Security Council veto casting members which neither criticized nor condemned New Delhi after its 1998 nuclear tests. Soon after, an India-France strategic partnership was established with a solid roadmap for strengthening and elevating their cooperation in defense and security, civil nuclear, space and the maritime domain. New Delhi and Paris’ clean energy partnership on climate change has also resulted in the establishment of the International Solar Alliance and further demonstrates a practical model for East-West cooperation based on trust, shared values and interests.
The multi-domain Franco-Indian partnership is firmly rooted in similarities in Indian and French strategic cultures, with both seeking to preserve their strategic autonomy in their foreign policy engagements vis-à-vis great powers and simultaneously promoting an inclusive multipolar system. Paris further extends full political support for New Delhi’s counter terrorism sanction efforts and permanent candidature in the UNSC. Building on the momentum of their strategic convergence, Paris and New Delhi have also initiated engagements in a trilateral format with key like minded partners such as Australia, UAE, Japan and Indonesia.
Former Indian Ambassador to France, Dr. Mohan Kumar notes that the India-France defense partnership has considerably evolved from a ‘buyer-seller’ to an ‘investor-investee’ relationship with substantial technology transfer to New Delhi. Under Modi’s premiership, India has increasingly focused on diversifying its defense supply partners and leveraging their research and innovation to focus on co-development, co-production and technology transfer of advanced weapons and systems. With its willingness to share hi-tech military know-how with India in critical domains such as air, sea and space, France is committed to the ‘Make in India’ program by making India’s defense industrial base more self-reliant.
I Expanding defense industry cooperation
France – one of New Delhi’s principal defense suppliers – along with Russia, United States and Israel – raises exciting prospects for expanding bilateral defense industry cooperation which targets local manufacturing in India and advanced technology transfers. Ahead of the Modi-Macron bilateral meeting, French Envoy to India Emmanuel Lenain confirmed the delivery of 36 Rafale aircrafts to the Indian Air Force. Both states have also made incremental progress on several defense deals in the pipeline, with increasing speculation that some may be concluded or signed during PM Modi’s visit.
One possible deal linked with Rafale involves the defense major Safran Group and its M-88 engine. Paris has given Safran the approval to power two of India’s developmental fighter jet programmes. They are the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and the twin-engine deck-based fighter projects. Safran and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will co-design and -develop, and ultimately certify its M-88 engine for the two programmes. The M-88 will be a new state-of-the-art engine, with Safran offering complete technology transfer to their Indian counterparts. Should the Safran M-88 engine deal materialize, it would be a good first step in PM Modi’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, paving the way for India’s time to lead defense manufacturing. The M-88 will be sharing an upcoming Safran facility to maintain repair and overhaul (MRO) for Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s, signifying France’s understanding of the Indian position to have dual-use facilities.
Safran has significant knowledge in India’s aerospace sector covering both commercial and military spheres. Safran Helicopter Engines and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited signed a deal in February 2023 to jointly develop a common engine for the 13-tonne Indian multi-role helicopter (IMRH) and its naval version, the deck-based multi-role helicopter (DBMRH). It is a demonstration of New Delhi’s intent and trust in Safran, with the French firm powering Indian helicopters for decades. In 2022, more than 1,000 Safran engines were operational with the Indian Armed Forces.
The possible sale of Dassault Aviation’s Rafale-M (Marine) fighter jets to India is another potential deal, with New Delhi increasingly focused on defense modernization of its aircraft fleet while simultaneously phasing out older models; the Russian Mig-29s, which are expected to be phased out by the mid-2030s. With a preference for the Rafales over the American F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet by Boeing, the Indian Navy has requested the Ministry of Defence to finalize the deal with Dassault Aviation. With increasing speculation over the conclusion of certain defense deals, it may be possible that a government-to-government deal could be concluded for India’s purchase of 26 French deck-based fighter jets in order to enhance the INS Vikrant’s combat air arm. New Delhi’s preference for the Rafales is based on familiarity and experience, with India already operating 36 Rafale fighter jets. Additionally, operationalisation has been quick with Rafale inductions and employment into the Indian Air Force on shorter notice. The purchase of the Rafale-Marines will boost India’s defense modernization efforts.
Ahead of the meeting between the Indian and French leaders in Paris, Indian NSA Ajit Doval met his French counterpart Emmanuel Bonne to discuss key issue item, such as defense cooperation; ensure peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific; and reaffirmed India and France’s shared commitment to a rules-based international order The joint development of future technologies aligning with India’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives were duly noted.
II Indo-Pacific and maritime security focus
As major Indo-Pacific powers, France and India also share similar visions for a free, open and rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific. The growing centrality of Indo-Pacific in geopolitical discourses had made Paris the first EU-27-member state to release its national Indo-Pacific Strategy, with Germany and the Netherlands following suit. With multiple small overseas territories in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, spanning from the Western Indian Ocean (La Reunion and Mayotte) to the Pacific Ocean (French Polynesia and Caledonia), France is a resident Indo-Pacific power that holds key economic, political and security interests in this strategic space. Evolving geopolitical and balance of power considerations have expanded the New Delhi-Paris strategic partnership to the maritime domain. Maritime security has emerged as a key point of further cooperation.
The Indian Navy regularly conducts joint exercises, port calls and coordinated patrols in tandem with their French counterparts. On 30th June 2023, the Indian Naval ships – INS Rana, a guided missile destroyer, and INS Sumedha, an indigenously built offshore patrol vessel conducted a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with French Navy ship FS Surcouf, in the Indian Ocean. FS Surcouf also conducted a friendly port call at Visakhapatnam, India from 26 – 29 June 2023. New Delhi and Paris have also operationalised their military logistics access agreement which gives the Indian Navy reciprocal military access to deploy its maritime assets to and from France’s Indian Ocean territories such as La Reunion. Deploying its maritime assets to and from its partner’s bases/facilities helps New Delhi better patrol and understand its vast maritime domain. Additionally, France was the first nation to station its permanent liaison officer at India’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) providing real time strategic awareness. Paris further remains an active member of the New Delhi led Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and hosted the last Indian Ocean Naval Symposium summit (IONS) further demonstrating its commitment to the region.
The New Delhi-Paris maritime partnership offers India the chance to strengthen its naval presence in its traditional backyard, the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), while simultaneously expanding its maritime footprint to the Pacific. With the inception of new minilaterals in the Indo-Pacific such as the AUKUS trilateral partnership and the Quad, a robust bilateral strategic partnership offers France multiple pathways to stay plugged into the evolving geopolitical, security and political architecture of the Indo-Pacific. India’s traditional role as a net security provider is well established in the IOR, its initiative on Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) that prioritizes its adjacent maritime spaces continues to strengthen India’s geopolitical position in the region. Deepening strategic ties with India may open fresh diplomatic channels for France to strengthen its position in the Indo-Pacific.
About the authors
Siddhant Hira is a Research Associate at NatStrat. He has completed his Masters in National Security at Kings College London and holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from O.P. Jindal Global University.
Moksh Suri is an MSc Global Affairs student at Kings College London. He completed his MA in International Relations from Leiden University. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Global Affairs from O.P. Jindal Global University.
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