The Naval variant of the Dassault Rafale. (Dassault Aviation/C. Cosmao)
PARIS — France will supply another 26 Dassault Rafale fighter jets to India and is in discussions around a contract that would see Naval Group build three more diesel-electric Scorpene submarines, contracts that could be worth an estimated €9 billion ($10 billion).
The news comes in the wake of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Paris for the 14th July Bastille Day celebrations, where India was guest of honor. As part of Modi’s visit, the two countries released a document entitled “Horizon 2047,” about the future collaboration between the two sides — including on defense issues.
Both deals were approved by India’s Defense Acquisition Council and announced by the Indian defense minister, but contracts between the companies are not expected to be signed before mid-2024.
France’s Naval Group and Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. (MDL) will be the prime contractors on the Scorpene submarines, although a spokesperson for Naval Group told Breaking Defense that despite some reports, no Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the two sides — indicating that discussions are still in the earliest stages. A A Naval Group communiqué stated simply that it welcomed the announcement “by Indian and French authorities regarding the extension of the Indo-French partnership and the objective to explore more ambitious projects to develop the Indian fleet and its performance.”
MDL built the Indian navy’s first six Scorpene, or Kalvari-class, submarines with Naval Group in a transfer of technology program know as P75 which was signed in 2005. Five Scorpene subs have already been commissioned, while the sixth has begun its sea trials and is scheduled for delivery to the Indian Navy in early 2024.
One new MOU that was signed is between Naval Group and India’s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, covering technology transfer so that the Indian company can build any of the ships of Naval Group’s Gowind family and sell them to third countries that are friendly to both France and India. That represents a potential major boon for India’s domestic ship building industry, as well as helping with marketing of Naval Group’s wares.
The two companies have previously collaborated to build four anti-submarine corvettes, known as the Kamorta-class corvettes, that were commissioned between 2014 and 2020.
The 26 Rafales, in the naval configuration, were not mentioned in the leaders’ final communique but a Dassault Aviation statement was straightforward: “Following an international competition launched by the Indian authorities, this decision comes after a successful trial campaign held in India, during which the navy Rafale demonstrated that it fully met the Indian Navy’s operational requirements and was perfectly suited to the specificities of its aircraft carrier.” It added that “the Indian Navy’s 26 Rafale will eventually join the 36 Rafale already in service, which are giving full satisfaction to the Indian Air Force.”
The Dassault statement underlined that India is the first country to make the same military choice as France “by operating both versions of the aircraft to help consolidate its superiority in the air and on the seas.” India’s procurement of the Rafale was the result of a notoriously delayed effort, dating back to the late 2000s.
More broadly, the Horizon 2047 document states that “both countries are also working towards adopting a Roadmap on Defense Industrial Cooperation” and notes that India “is setting up a Technical Office of the DRDO at its Embassy in Paris” in view of the “uptick in defense industrial collaborations.”
In addition, India and France will jointly design, develop, test, qualify, certify and produce a 110 Kilo-newton engine for India’s AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft), a fifth-generation stealth fighter. A roadmap for the project will be prepared by French aircraft engine manufacturer Safran and the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) before the end of this year.
According to the Times of India “if the US has agreed to 80 percent transfer of technology (ToT) in the joint production of the GE-414 jet engine in the 98 Kilo-newton thrust class to power the indigenous Teja Mark-2 fighters, France is offering 100 percent ToT for a more powerful engine.”
France and India also agreed to cooperate for the motorization of heavy-lift helicopters under the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) program. “To enable progress on the IMRH program, a shareholders’ agreement between Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, India and Safran Helicopter Engine, France, has been concluded for engine development,” the Horizon 2047 document says.
2047 not only marks the 50th anniversary of the two countries’ strategic partnership but will also mark India’s centennial anniversary of independence and a century of diplomatic relations between Paris and Delhi.
