The medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) project, the largest such arms deal in the making around the globe at present, is sure to figure high in the talks between Le Drian and defence minister A K Antony on Friday.
"They will also discuss the security situation in the Af-Pak region, especially after the withdrawal of the US-led international coalition forces from Afghanistan in 2014. Le Drian will also brief the Indian side on the French white paper on defence and national security released last April," said an official.
While the proposed Rs 30,000 crore joint project to develop the Maitri air defence missile systems will also be on the agenda, the focus will be on the MMRCA project. India has not been too happy with the progress in the final commercial negotiations with Dassault Aviation, which had earlier stalled due to the French aviation major's insistence that it would be responsible only for the first 18 jets, while Hindustan Aeronautics will have shoulder responsibility for the 108 fighters to be manufactured in India under licence once the kits for them are supplied to it.
But the Indian defence ministry had firmly rejected this contention, holding that Dassault will have to partner with HAL in the execution of the entire project as was specified in the original tender or RFP (request for proposal) for the hotly-contested project.
It was in January 2012 that Rafale was selected over Eurofighter Typhoon - the two had earlier outclassed the American F/A-18 `Super Hornet' and F-16 'Super Viper', the Russian MiG-35 and Swedish Gripen in the extensive field trials - for the final negotiations since it had emerged as the L-1 (lowest bidder) both in terms of life cycle costs and direct acquisition costs.
Though both New Delhi and Paris are keen to conclude the negotiations for the complex project as soon as possible, there is a big question mark over whether that will indeed happen within the 2013-2014 fiscal since India is headed for general elections early next year.
Incidentally, Le Drian will on Saturday also visit the Gwalior airbase, which houses the 51 French-origin Mirage-2000 fighters that are to be progressively upgraded under another massive defence project finalized with France in 2011-2012.
The overall upgrade programme of the Mirage-2000s, first inducted in the IAF fleet in the mid-1980s, is pegged at Rs 17,547 crore. The first two fighters are currently being upgraded by Dassault in France, which will take another 18 months or so, the rest 49 jets will be progressively upgraded in India by HAL under transfer of technology.
While the upgrade will cost Rs 10, 947 crore, India is paying another Rs 6,600 crore to acquire 490 advanced fire-and-forget MICA (interception and aerial combat missiles) systems to arm the fighters from French armament major MBDA.
There has been some criticism about the upgrade programme, which will take over a decade to complete, being "very exorbitant" but the MoD and IAF contend the Mirage-2000s will be "virtually new and potent" fighters after it.
Another major bilateral ongoing project is the building of six French Scorpene submarines at Mazagon Docks (MDL) under the Rs 23,562 crore `Project-75' at Mumbai. Apart from a major cost escalation, the project is running four years behind the original 2012-2017 induction schedule, as was first reported by TOI earlier. The first submarine is now slated to roll out of MDL only by November 2016 at the earliest.
India, of course, remains steadfast about its strategic partnership with France, which did not impose sanctions after the 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests. Apart from supporting India's bid for permanent membership of the UN Security Council as well as G-8, France is one of the biggest arms suppliers to this country. The armed forces from the two countries also conduct regular military exercises -- the naval "Varuna", the air "Garuda' and the land "Shakti" wargames.
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