India, France to review defence ties in Bengaluru on February 17
India and France will review the entire gamut of their bilateral defence ties during the 6th India-France Annual Dialogue on February 17 in Bengaluru, the defence ministry said here on Sunday. Rajnath Singh and his counterpart Catherine Vautrin will co-chair the dialogue.
The meeting comes days after the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Rajnath Singh, approved a proposal to acquire 114 Rafale jets from France.
The proposed deal is pegged at Rs 3.25 lakh crores. While India will buy 18 jets off the shelf, the remaining planes will be manufactured in India.
Meanwhile, giving details of the upcoming meeting, officials said it will also focus on expanding industrial collaboration. A defence cooperation agreement is expected to be renewed for another 10 years, with an MoU on Joint Venture for manufacturing of Hammer missiles likely to be signed in the presence of both Defence Ministers. An announcement is also expected with respect to the reciprocal deployment of officers at the Indian Army and French Land Forces establishments.
The two Ministers are also expected to witness the virtual inauguration of the H125 Light Utility Helicopter Final Assembly of Tata Airbus by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron at Vemagal, Karnataka.
Defence has traditionally formed an important pillar of the relationship between the two countries. The strong and enduring bilateral ties were vividly reflected in 2024-2025 through a series of high-profile exchanges. Prime Minister Modi was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade in July 2023, before the French President graced the Republic Day Parade 2024 as the Chief Guest.
The recent India-EU Security and Defence Partnership mark a significant step in deepening collective engagement with European nations. Military-to-Military cooperation is on the increase. India and France have been regularly carrying out three major exercises — Exercise Shakti with the Army, Exercise Varuna with the Navy, and Exercise Garuda with the Air Force, and several other opportunity engagements.
This would be the maiden visit of Catherine Vautrin to India after she took over as the French Defence Minister on October 12, 2025. The India-France Annual Defence Dialogue is a structured ministerial-level bilateral meeting to review and guide defence and security cooperation. The 5th edition of the meeting was held in France from October 11-13, 2023.
