The two sides discussed a number of regional and global issues, including the security situation in Afghanistan and the Ukraine conflict.
New Delhi: India and France held the 36th Strategic Dialogue here on Thursday ahead of a possible visit by French President Emmanuel Macron in March, a report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
The two sides discussed a number of regional and global issues, including the security situation in Afghanistan and the Ukraine conflict.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the annual dialogue focused on wide-ranging issues, including counterterrorism, cyber security and defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Indian side was led by NSA Ajit Doval, while the visiting French delegation was led by Emmanuel Bonne, Diplomatic Adviser to the French President.
Meanwhile, the French media reported that Macron’s visit would see the two sides signing a contract for naval version of the Rafale fighter jets, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of their strategic partnership.
Sources say New Delhi will most likely confirm the acquisition of the Rafale Marine to the tricolor aircraft manufacturer during Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India scheduled for next March.
“France is one of India’s most reliable strategic partners,” said the Indian Ministry of Defense recently
The Indian Navy had, expressed an initial need for 26 aircraft to equip its INS Vikrant aircraft carrier .This aircraft will provide the India with a homogeneous fleet between the Rafale Air and the Rafale Marine.
As part of the fourth annual India-France defence dialogue in late November in Delhi, the Minister of Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu met with his Indian counterpart Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The two ministers discussed ways to strengthen maritime cooperation and increase the complexity of bilateral exercises. They also discussed industrial defence cooperation, including the “Make in India”. they discussed future cooperation and possibilities for co-production.
Dassault Aviation, the maker of Rafale, is confident that Rafale can be approved for the Indian Navy’s warship INS Vikrant. Rafale M is still being used by the armies of Greece, Indonesia and UAE.
The Navy believes that Rafale can meet its needs in a much betterway. It wants to remove 43 out-of-date Russian fighter jets MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB from its fleet.
The Navy had several aircraft names in mind but the final race was between the Rafale M and the F-18. The French Navy currently has 240 Rafale M jets. Dassault started manufacturing these jets from the year 1986.
Both the jets are already deployed on advanced aircraft carriers. In such a situation, both jets are fit for aircraft carriers equipped with CATOBARs system. The Navy currently has a new aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and an older INS Vikramaditya. Vikramaditya is a Kyiv class aircraft carrier of the Soviet Union which has been modernized in India. Both these warships are STOBAR aircraft carriers.
Fighter jets can make an arrested landing on a carrier equipped with the CATOBAR system. Although STOBAR-equipped carriers have arresting gears, the lack of catapults makes it difficult for jets to take off in confined spaces. The jets on both carriers are able to take off with the help of a ski jump. This is where Rafael M has nailed it. At present, the Navy has deployed its MiG-29 fleet on INS Vikramaditya.
The Rafale M had successfully carried out a series of manoeuvres on the US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush just a few days ago. Both Super Hornet and Rafale M are equipped with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. The RBE2-AA radar is fitted in the Rafale M. This radar can scan and track targets on air, sea and land. Rafael M is heavy on Super Hornet due to its visual range.
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