A major defense agreement between Germany and France has broken down, opening the doors to a historic opportunity for India. Both the European countries were going to jointly build the sixth generation fighter aircraft under the ‘Future Combat Air System’ (FCAS). However, this project has been canceled due to differences between the big companies involved in this scheme. Now France is looking towards India for this ambitious technology. Initial talks on this important partnership have already taken place between the Defense Ministers of India and France at the beginning of this year. This partnership will prove to be a major step towards increasing the strength of the Indian Air Force manifold as well as making the country self-reliant in terms of defense technology.
Europe’s failure became India’s masterstroke
In the year 2017, France and Germany had prepared a blueprint for making future fighter aircraft. But talks between companies like Airbus and Dassault, which were part of this project, did not work out on the commercial aspects ranging from sharing of technology. In such a situation, this joint plan was completely shelved and Germany is now choosing its own path with a new consortium. According to defense experts, this European breakup is a big strategic victory for India. India is building the fifth generation aircraft under its indigenous ‘Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft’ (AMCA) programme. But for the sixth generation advanced fighter jets, it was looking for a reliable foreign partner for a long time.
Big reason for having so much confidence in France
Diplomatic trust is most important for a long partnership in the defense sector. France fully meets this criterion. Under a big $35 billion deal, French Rafale fighter planes are going to be manufactured in India. Apart from this, France is also going to hand over advanced jet engine technology to India. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh had a long conversation with his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin in February this year. The issue of joint work on the sixth generation fighter jet was at the center of this meeting. Earlier, India had also assessed the ‘Global Combat Air Program’ (GCAP) of Japan-Italy-Britain at the technical level. But instead of working with a group of many countries, it is considered safer and more practical to work with a single trusted country, so that any mutual dispute does not stop any project in the future.
Preparing to become the new Alexander of the sky
Developing sixth generation fighter jets requires a huge budget and very modern research. This is the reason why India and France working together is also economically beneficial. At present, no country in the world is operating sixth generation fighter aircraft. America is working on its ‘Next Generation Air Dominance’ (NGAD) program, while China has also recently displayed some new advanced models. America, China and Russia are already using fifth generation stealth and heavily armed jets. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to France, major emphasis is being laid on joint development projects in the defense sector. If this deal is completed, then this technology will completely change India’s dominance in the skies.
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