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Video length: 3 mins.
India, guest of honor on July 14, has just given its agreement in principle for the purchase of 26 Rafale planes and three French submarines. This partnership in the field of armaments between the two countries has been running for 25 years.
At Ambala air base (state of Haryana, in northern India), these pilots are among the best of their generation. Every day, they take control of an exceptional aircraft: the Rafale. India has 36 of them. Bought from France in 2016, these fighter planes were entirely designed in France, and are now the pride of the Indian army. France also sold over the past ten years to India six submarines, other combat aircraft and missiles. In total, more than 11 billion euros of contract, which makes France the second supplier of arms of the country, after Russia and before the United States.
A strategic country
Arms manufacturers have made India a priority for several years. Alain Paul is in charge of one of the Thales offices in India. The group, present in the country for 70 years, is one of the first to bet on this market. Today, India is one of the world’s biggest arms buyers. “A strategic country“, according to Alain Paul. Can France have its know-how stolen? To set up in the country, a French company that produces high-precision equipment for defense systems had to partner with an Indian company and train its employees. For the company, it is not about technology transfer, but about a win-win partnership.