India And France Sign MOU For Building 3 Scorpene Submarines

India and France, on Friday, celebrated the success of the 1st scorpene submarine construction programme, the P75-Kalvari, an initiative of Make In India and sharing naval expertise between the companies of the two nations.

Additionally, the Defense Acquisition Council, the top-most decision-making body for acquiring military equipment for the Indian armed forces on July 13th, cleared proposals worth an estimated 80,000 crore which is almost 9 billion euros, to acquire 3 additional Scorpene submarines and 26 Rafale Marine Fighter Jets for the Navy.

An MOU was signed between Mazgon Dockyard Ltd and the Naval group for building 3 additional submarines under the P-75 Program. They would be built in Mazagon Dockyards Ltd, in Mumbai.

The announcement was made after the Indian PM’s talks with French President Macron in Paris concluded.

The Scorpene Subs have stealth features, long-range guided torpedoes, and anti-ship missiles. They have a SONAR suite and a sensor suite offering them excellent operational capabilities.

This comes after the Indian PM Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron adopted the ‘Horizon 2047: 25th Anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership, Towards A Century of India-France Relations.’

They welcomed the collaboration between the naval companies of both nations.

A Joint Statement read that India and France are ready to explore more ambitious projects to develop the Indian submarine fleet and its performance.

India is also setting up a Technical Office of the DRDO at its Paris Embassy to adopt a roadmap for Defense Industrial Cooperation between the two nations.

Speaking about the French commitment to the ‘Make-In-India’ Initiative, PM Modi and President Macron also applauded the defence industrial partnerships, including the agreement between Safran Helicopter Engine and HAL for the transfer of Technology of Forging and Castings for building the Shakti Engine.

Another example of India-France’s outstanding cooperation in military aviation stretching over 5 decades is the timely delivery of 36 Rafale jets ordered by India.

Both nations decided to extend this mutual partnership in developing advanced aeronautical technologies by agreeing on the joint development of a combat aircraft engine.

French company Safran and India’s Defense Research and Development Organisation, DRDO, will make a roadmap for this project before 2023 end.

They will also uphold industrial cooperation for motorising heavy-lift helicopters under the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter, IMRH Programme with Safran Helicopter Engine.

Another MOU was signed between Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd and Naval Group France, a prominent name in the European Naval Defense Industry, to collaborate in the field of surface ships that would meet India’s requirements and those of International Naval forces.

References: timesofindia, indianexpress, aninews

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Source: Maritime Shipping News