By N. C. Bipindra

New Delhi: India and France on February 17, 2026, renewed a 10-year defence cooperation framework covering all aspects of their bilateral military cooperation, including co-development and co-production of arms, joint armed forces exercises, and interoperability among their security forces.

Signed by Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and France’s Deputy Director General of International Relations and Strategy Lieutenant General Eric Peltier, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) both renewed and amended the existing 10-year agreement between the two nations.

Though specific clauses and details of the MoU remained confidential, it is learned that the agreement also provided for expanded defence industrial collaboration, operational coordination, technology transfer, co-development of military systems, maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, and partnerships in space and emerging technologies.

The MoU was finalised and signed on the sidelines of the sixth India-France Annual Defence Dialogue held in Bengaluru, coinciding with the State visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to India for a summit meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The signed agreement signalled a deepening of defence industrial cooperation between the two strategic partner nations, apart from convergence of strategic interests in multiple, critical domains.

India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who co-chaired the dialogue with French counterpart Catherine Vautrin, highlighted France’s “steadfast commitment to strategic autonomy” and a stronger European defence posture.

He also linked the MoU to the broader India–EU security and defence partnership, describing it as “a platform to deepen regional stability and joint capability-building.”

BEL-Safran JV for HAMMER Missiles

Alongside the 10-year MoU, India’s state-run Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and France’s Safran signed a joint venture (JV) agreement to produce the Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (HAMMER) precision-guided missiles in India.

The JV deal marked a major step toward indigenisation of critical missile technology through BEL with technology support from Safran. The JV agreement was signed by BEL Chairman and Managing Director Major Jain and Safran Electronics & Defence executive vice president Alexander Ziegler.

The deal would enable BEL to get precision-guided air-to-ground HAMMER missile technology transferred to it for manufacturing the weapons system in its facilities, and to integrate them on the Indian Air Force’s and Indian Navy’s Rafale fighter jets, apart from being adapted to other Indian fighter aircraft, including the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft.

The HAMMER JV agreement would enhance the Indian combat aircraft fleet’s operational readiness by reducing import dependency, apart from boosting domestic defence industrial capabilities, local manufacturing, supply chain resilience, and life cycle support under the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Owned by India’ doctrines enumerated in the draft Defence Acquisition Procedure 2026 released on February 10, 2026.

India-France Elevate Strategic Partnership

The two defence agreements came as Modi and Macron met to elevate the India-France bilateral strategic partnership and expand it to domains such as space, artificial intelligence, and critical technologies.

France has always been a dependable partner of India, right from its support with advanced military systems such as submarines and fighter aircraft, civil nuclear cooperation, space technology, and India’s permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

France has previously helped India build the Scorpene conventional submarines for the Indian Navy, apart from assistance in aeroengine development such as the Kaveri, helicopter manufacturing through licensed production, alongwith the Rafale jets in recent years.

Catherine Vautrin described the India-France defence cooperation as the “central pillar” of bilateral relations. “Our collaboration is exemplary, with joint exercises and co-production of military platforms. This partnership is grounded in mutual respect, which makes India an essential partner in the Indo-Pacific,” she said.

Both the Indian and the French defence ministers highlighted the importance of the bilateral partnerships amidst shifting global power dynamics. Rajnath Singh specifically mentioned that the bilateral partnership was “a stabilising force” in the Indo-Pacific, which is increasing becoming a contested space for strategic dominance by global powers.

He underlined maritime security, supply chain resilience, and strategic competition as the key concerns for the Indo-Pacific region, and described India as the “first responder” and “net security provider” for nations in the region, particularly during natural and man-made disasters.

India always extended support to the Indo-Pacific nations in defence, security and maritime domains to augment their capabilities and to ward off adversaries, he said.

Vautrin, flagging the deeper cooperation in space security, defence industry integration, and bilateral technology partnerships, said the two defence agreements indicated that Indo-French defence ties were moving beyond buyer-seller dynamics toward co-production and long-term capability development.

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