France in advanced talks to buy Indian rocket launcher system, Indian official says

By Shivam Patel

BENGALURU, India (Reuters) - France is in advanced talks with India to buy a multi-barrel rocket launcher system, a top Indian official said on Monday, a potential deal that would be the first time India's second-largest arms supplier buys weapons from New Delhi.

India is the world's biggest arms importer, but has been trying to boost local production to meet its defence requirements and has been steadily raising its defence exports.

The domestically made Pinaka rocket system with a range of up to 90 km (56 miles) was demonstrated to a French delegation in India around three months ago and was found to be satisfactory, a second official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

"France is in active talks for Pinaka," Ummalaneni Raja Babu, the director general of missiles and strategic systems at India's Defence Research and Development Organisation, said on the sidelines of the Aero India aerospace exhibition in the southern city of Bengaluru.  

"A deal has not been reached yet, but the talks are continuing," said Babu.  

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a visit to France on Monday to co-chair an artificial intelligence summit in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and both leaders are scheduled to hold bilateral talks on Tuesday. 

It was not immediately clear if the rocket system will feature in the talks, and India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

France's embassy in India did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of business hours.  

France was India's second-largest arms supplier after Russia between 2019 and 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The Pinaka rocket launcher system, used by the Indian Army and deployed in the 1999 war between India and Pakistan, is also being enhanced with longer ranges, Babu said.

(Reporting by Shivam Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Sharon Singleton)