BEHIND INDIA'S DEEPENING MILITARY TIES WITH FRANCE

Paris has emerged as New Delhi's Most Dependable Strategic Partner in recent times.

- Ninad Sheth

The India-France defence relationship goes back almost to the beginning of India’s post-independence rearmament. France has been the strategic go-to partner for a top-of-the-line, most technologically advanced force multiplier weapons platform.

In the 1950s India purchased several French fighter jets, including the Dassault Ouragan and Mystere IV. Over the years, the two countries have cooperated in various fields of defence; in particular, India has turned to France for Fighter jets that can be tuned to deliver nuclear weapons as was the case with Mirage 2000. That the Mirage 2000 retains pride of place in the IAF even today was demonstrated by its employment in the Balakot cross-border terror elimination strike.

France has also been a partner in the development of nuclear technology and missile systems. In recent years, India has emerged as a major buyer of French military hardware, with several high-profile deals being signed between them.

France-supplied weapons add frontline technological quality to Russian weapon platforms that make the quantitative power of the Indian force structure. This is a match-up that India has traditionally relied upon for arming her forces.