India and France on Monday kicked off their joint `Shakti’ combat exercise at Umroi in Meghalaya, with French ambassador Thierry Mathou saying the aim of the expansive bilateral defence cooperation is to strengthen the sovereignty and strategic autonomy of the two nations, and together advance peace and security in the Indo-Pacific.
“The relations between France and India are at their brightest since they were officially established in 1947.
Together, we have built a unique strategic partnership, based on a level of mutual trust that is rarely seen between nations,” Mathou said, at the inauguration ceremony of the exercise.
The 14-day exercise between the two armies, which comes soon after chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan visited France in the last week of April, is geared towards “enhancing the joint military capability to undertake multi-domain operations in a sub-conventional scenario”, an officer said.
“The exercise will focus on operations in the semi-urban and mountainous terrain. The objectives to be achieved are a high degree of physical fitness, rehearsing and refining drills for operations at the tactical level, and sharing of best practices,” he added.
The tactical drills, with contingents from the Rajput Regiment and the French 13th Foreign Legion Half- Brigade, will include the response to terrorists capturing a territory, establishment of a joint command post as well as an intelligence & surveillance center, special heliborne operations, and employment of drones and counter-drone systems, among others.
This 7th edition of the Shakti marks a new level of complexity with twice the number of troops than before, setting up of a brigade-level command post, and inclusion of air force and naval observers for the first time. “It will further boost interoperability, bonhomie and camaraderie between the armed forces of the two nations,” the officer said.
As part of their strong military ties, ranging from maritime security and defence-industrial collaboration to counterterrorism and information-sharing, India and France also regularly conduct the `Shakti’ exercise between their armies, `Varuna’ between their navies and `Garuda’ between their air forces. While the `Varuna’ exercise will take place later this year, the French Air Force will also take part in India’s multi-nation `Tarang Shakti’ air combat exercise in August.
India, after the acquisition of 36 Rafale fighters for IAF under the Rs 59,000 crore contract inked in September 2016, is now also finalizing the estimated Rs 50,000 crore deal for 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets for the Navy and the manufacture of three additional Scorpene diesel-electric submarines at Mazagon Docks for around Rs 30,000 crore.
The two countries have also agreed to co-develop advanced fighter jet and helicopter engines. The proposed jet engine project between DRDO and French major Safran, with 100% transfer of technology, is to jointly design, develop, test, qualify, certify and produce a 110 Kilonewton engine for the planned Indian fifth-generation stealth fighter called AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft). Talks are also underway for “motorization of heavy-lift helicopters” under the Indian multi-role helicopter programme (IMRH) with Safran.
