NEW DELHI: Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba, who is also the country's senior-most military officer as the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee, is now in France to further consolidate bilateral military cooperation and explore new avenues for defence cooperation.
The visit comes at a time when India and France have decided to build an "ambitious" global security and defence partnership, with a stepped-up focus on maritime surveillance and security in the Indian Ocean Region. It will be a major issue on the bilateral agenda when French President Emmanuel Macron visits India in December.
Admiral Lanba, during his visit till November 10, will hold talks with French defence minister Florence Parly, chief of defence staff General Francois Lecointre, Navy chief Admiral Christophe Prazuck, director general (armament) General Joel Barre and director general (international relations and strategy) Vice Admiral Hervede Bonnaventure.
During Parly's visit to India last month, the two countries decided to further crank up their military-to-military ties as well as enhance cooperation in maritime security and counter-terrorism towards expanding their bilateral strategic partnership. The two have agreed on a range of measures to expand their bilateral military ties, which includes enhancing the scope of their joint exercises, in particular the "Varuna" naval exercise scheduled for early 2018.
Admiral Lanba will also visit the Maritime Prefectures at Brest and Cherbourg as well as the submarine facility at Cherbourg and airbase at Landivisiau. At the airbase, he will be briefed on the "operational employability" of the Rafale fighters by the French Air Force.
France is keen to sell another 36 Rafale fighters to India after the first 36 jets are delivered to IAF by 2022 under the Rs 59,000 crore deal inked in September last year. The Rafale's maritime version is also in contention for the Indian Navy's proposed procurement project to acquire 57 fighters to operate from aircraft carriers, with the others being F/A-18 (US), Sea Gripen (Sweden) and MiG-29K (Russia).
French Naval Group-DCNS, of course, is also among the four contenders for Project-75 (India), under which six advanced stealth submarines are to be built in India through collaboration between a foreign ship-builder and an Indian shipyard for an estimated Rs 70,000 crore. The French company is already involved in the construction of six Scorpene submarines at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai under the over Rs 23,000 crore Project-75.
The visit comes at a time when India and France have decided to build an "ambitious" global security and defence partnership, with a stepped-up focus on maritime surveillance and security in the Indian Ocean Region. It will be a major issue on the bilateral agenda when French President Emmanuel Macron visits India in December.
Admiral Lanba, during his visit till November 10, will hold talks with French defence minister Florence Parly, chief of defence staff General Francois Lecointre, Navy chief Admiral Christophe Prazuck, director general (armament) General Joel Barre and director general (international relations and strategy) Vice Admiral Hervede Bonnaventure.
During Parly's visit to India last month, the two countries decided to further crank up their military-to-military ties as well as enhance cooperation in maritime security and counter-terrorism towards expanding their bilateral strategic partnership. The two have agreed on a range of measures to expand their bilateral military ties, which includes enhancing the scope of their joint exercises, in particular the "Varuna" naval exercise scheduled for early 2018.
Admiral Lanba will also visit the Maritime Prefectures at Brest and Cherbourg as well as the submarine facility at Cherbourg and airbase at Landivisiau. At the airbase, he will be briefed on the "operational employability" of the Rafale fighters by the French Air Force.
France is keen to sell another 36 Rafale fighters to India after the first 36 jets are delivered to IAF by 2022 under the Rs 59,000 crore deal inked in September last year. The Rafale's maritime version is also in contention for the Indian Navy's proposed procurement project to acquire 57 fighters to operate from aircraft carriers, with the others being F/A-18 (US), Sea Gripen (Sweden) and MiG-29K (Russia).
French Naval Group-DCNS, of course, is also among the four contenders for Project-75 (India), under which six advanced stealth submarines are to be built in India through collaboration between a foreign ship-builder and an Indian shipyard for an estimated Rs 70,000 crore. The French company is already involved in the construction of six Scorpene submarines at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai under the over Rs 23,000 crore Project-75.
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