From Rafale fighter jets to submarines, India and France are expanding defence cooperation, French President Emmanuel Macron said after his bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mumbai on Tuesday.
His remarks come days after India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, cleared a long-pending proposal to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets from France.
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India and France maintain a robust strategic defence partnership, involving major deals on aircraft, submarines, and missiles. The two countries had signed a contract in 2005 for constructing six submarines, of which five (INS Kalvari, Khanderi, Karanj, Vela and Vagir) were commissioned in 2017, 2019, 2021, 2021 and 2023. On 15 January 2025, the sixth and final submarine of the P75 Scorpene-class project, INS Vaghsheer, was commissioned in the Indian Navy. The government had, in 2015, announced a government-to-government deal for 36 Rafale fighters. ln 2025, India signed another agreement with France to procure 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets, valued at approximately ₹63,000 crore.
Modi and Macron held wide-ranging talks to boost ties in key sectors such as trade, defence, energy and critical technologies. Boosting defence cooperation and enhancing bilateral engagement in the critical technology sector are priority areas to take forward the ties between the two countries.
The list of outcomes from Macron's visit also included a joint venture between BEL and Safran to produce HAMMER missiles in India, and reciprocal deployment of officers at Indian Army and French Land Forces establishments.
The two countries announced that during the meeting, it was decided that the ties will be elevated to the Special Strategic Partnership status.
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"There is no doubt about that, because we have complete faith in this relationship, and we have been doing so for the past eight years. Each year, by working on different things, we have charted many new paths. For example, whether it is the Indo-Pacific region or technology, there is no hegemony. We firmly believe in the rule of law, and we have demonstrated this over the past few years," the French president was quoted as saying.
Calling the bilateral relationship between India and France "unique", Macron said this relationship is one of trust, openness, and ambition.
PM Modi pointed out that India and France, both ancient and prosperous civilisations, value their strong cultural and people-to-people ties and long history of cooperation. "...the world is facing a period of uncertainty. In this environment, the India-France partnership is a force for global stability. We are combining France's expertise and India's scale. We are developing trusted technologies," the PM added.
Whether it's defence, clean energy, space, or emerging technologies, we will connect our industries and innovators in every field, Modi said, according to news agency ANI.
