India and France have decided to continue their defence cooperation for another 10 years, showing their strong and trusted partnership in the military sector.
The decision was taken during the annual defence dialogue between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu in Bengaluru. Both countries agreed to work more closely in defence manufacturing, technology sharing and joint development of advanced systems.
One of the key announcements was the plan to produce HAMMER precision-guided air-to-ground missiles in India. This will be done through a joint venture between Bharat Electronics Limited and France’s Safran. The move supports India’s push for self-reliance in defence production and will also bring advanced technology into the country.
India and France also agreed to send military officers to each other’s forces for training and better coordination. This step is expected to improve understanding and strengthen operational cooperation between the two armies.
During the talks, Rajnath Singh said France is one of India’s most important defence partners and that the relationship is moving from a simple buyer-seller model to joint design, development and manufacturing.
The defence discussions took place alongside French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India, where he held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both leaders decided to expand cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, space, innovation, clean energy and critical minerals.
They also launched the India–France Year of Innovation to promote collaboration between researchers, industries and start-ups of both countries.
Also Read: Media flags AI threat to news revenue
