Ahead of the expected announcement that India will acquire 114 additional Rafale fighter jets from French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will co-chair the 6th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue with his French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin.The two ministers are scheduled to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a joint venture to manufacture Hammer missiles in India. The Hammer is a precision-strike weapon capable of hitting ground targets and is already integrated with the existing fleet of Rafale jets operated by the Indian Air Force.The meeting is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on Tuesday, February 17, the Ministry of Defence said.The dialogue will review the entire gamut of bilateral defence cooperation, with a focus on expanding industrial collaboration, particularly as French companies increase their participation in India’s “Make in India” initiative. Apart from Dassault, which is expected to manufacture the majority of the 114 Rafale jets in India, engine maker Safran already has a joint venture with public sector aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to produce helicopter engines.Rajnath Singh and Vautrin are also scheduled to renew the defence cooperation agreement, which is expected to be extended for another 10 years.An announcement is also anticipated regarding the reciprocal deployment of officers at Indian Army and French Land Forces establishments.The two ministers are further expected to witness the virtual inauguration of the H125 Light Utility Helicopter Final Assembly Line of Tata Airbus at Vemagal, Karnataka, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron.Defence has traditionally been a key pillar of the relationship between India and France. The strength and continuity of bilateral ties were reflected in 2023–2024 through a series of high-profile exchanges. Modi attended the Bastille Day Parade in July 2023 as Guest of Honour, while Macron was the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day Parade in January 2024.The recent India-EU Security and Defence Partnership marks a significant step in deepening collective engagement with European nations, with military-to-military cooperation on the rise.This will be Catherine Vautrin’s maiden visit to India since assuming office as French Defence Minister on October 12, 2025. The India-France Annual Defence Dialogue is a structured, ministerial-level bilateral mechanism to review and guide defence and security cooperation. The fifth edition of the dialogue was held in France from October 11 to 13, 2023.
