Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his official visit to Paris offered indigenously developed and manufactured Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers (MBLR) to the French Army, which would be a confidence booster for self-reliance in the military sector.
In his pitch, Modi said the possible acquisition by the French Army would elevate Indo-French defence ties.
“Prime Minister Modi also invited the French Army to take a closer look at the Pinaka MBLR, emphasising that an acquisition of this system by France would be another milestone in Indo-French defence ties,” read a joint statement issued by the two countries on Wednesday.
Modi’s two-day official visit, at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, culminated on Wednesday. The two leaders held discussions over a variety of issues including on defence during the bilateral talks.
A few months ago, a visiting French delegation was given a demonstration of the capability of Pinaka rocket launchers, the upgraded version of which has a range of 90 km.
It was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and produced separately by two private industries — Tata Advance Systems Ltd (TASL) and L&T.
TASL sources, without getting into specifics of engagement, merely said talks are on with France for Pinaka. They also stated that TASL CEO and MD, Sukaran Singh, was in France as part of the PM Modi-led delegation of Indian industrialists.
A top DRDO officer, on conditions of anonymity, said that the talks are at a very preliminary stage between the two sides on the export of Pinaka MBLR.
The Indian Army, meanwhile, has already inducted four regiments of Pinaka and will get another six regiments by 2027, given that the force is satisfied with its performance. Overall, the Army wants to induct 25 regiments of the rocket systems in future.
Meanwhile, the joint statement is silent on talks for acquiring marine version of Rafale fighters for the Indian Navy.
Collaboration on submarines
The joint statement, however, stated that both the leaders commended progress in collaboration in the construction of Scorpene submarines in India, including indigenisation attempts on the platform.
Particularly, the work carried out with a view to the integration of DRDO-developed Air Independent Propulsion into P75-Scorpene submarines and the analyses conducted regarding the possible integration of the Integrated Combat System (ICS) into the future P75-AS submarines were appreciated by both the leaders.
“Both sides welcomed the ongoing discussions in missiles, helicopter engines and jet engines. They also welcomed the excellent cooperation between the relevant entities in the Safran group and their Indian counterparts,” the joint statement informed.
In order to deepen the research and development (R&D) partnerships in defence, the joint statement said both leaders stressed on the early launch of an R&D framework through a Technical Arrangement for cooperation in defence technologies between DGA and DRDO.
In addition, both leaders welcomed the ongoing discussions between L’Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA) and DRDO to identify technologies for R&D partnerships.
