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Gen Dwivedi briefed on French Army’s modernisation drive
Launched a decade ago, the Scorpion programme seeks to modernise the French Army’s combat capabilities with new platforms.
NEW DELHI: Indian Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday visited Marseille where he was briefed on the French Army’s modernisation programme, called Scorpion, and the mission and role of the French Land Command’s 3rd Division based there, officials aware of the matter said.
Launched a decade ago, the Scorpion programme seeks to modernise the French Army’s combat capabilities with new platforms. Dwivedi, who began his four-day official visit on January 24, was also briefed on the ongoing training cooperation between the two armies, the officials said. The visit seeks to deepen defence cooperation between the two countries --- a key element of overall bilateral relationship --- and explore new avenues of cooperation.
The army chief will visit Carpiagne on Wednesday to witness live firing exercises. On February 27, he will visit the Neuve Chapelle Indian War Memorial to pay tributes to men who fell in World War I. This will be followed by a talk at the École de Guerre, the French Joint Staff College, where Dwivedi is expected to highlight the evolving nature of warfare and India’s strategic vision, the army earlier said on the eve of the visit.
The visit comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France on February 10-12. India and France then launched a joint road map for developing safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) as Modi and President Emmanuel Macron explored ways to ramp up cooperation in science and innovation under the bilateral strategic partnership.
Also, India is all set to sign two separate deals with France for 26 new Rafale-M fighter jets for aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, and three more Scorpene-class submarines to sharpen the navy’s combat capabilities.
The deal for the Rafale-M twin-engine deck-based fighters, built for sustained combat operations at sea, is estimated to be worth around ₹50,000 crore. The Rafale-M is being imported as an interim measure to meet the navy’s requirements until India develops its own twin-engine deck-based fighter.
The additional Scorpene-class submarines, to be built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai, will strengthen the country’s maritime posture in the Indian Ocean Region where the challenges include China’s carefully calculated power play for influence and defending the rules-based international order.
MDL has already built six Kalvari-class (Scorpene) diesel-electric attack submarines with technology transfer from the French firm, Naval Group, under a ₹23,562-crore programme called Project 75.
Last year, India and France agreed to a new roadmap for defence industrial cooperation to identify opportunities for partnership in the sector including co-designing, co-development and co-production of military hardware.
