Indian defence delegation meets French officials in Paris; Rafale marine programme formally launched

An Indian defence delegation met with French officials at the Paris Air Show, formally launching the Rafale marine programme. Simultaneously, Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi attended a US Navy-hosted Key Leader Engagement, advocating for maritime security through innovation. He also reviewed indigenous defence manufacturing at Solar Industries, emphasizing public-private synergy and the growing importance of counter-drone systems.
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An Indian defence delegation led by Joint Secretary and Acquisition Manager (Maritime Systems) Dinesh Kumar met with French defence officials at the Paris Air Show on Thursday.The French side was headed by Lt Gen Gael Diaz De Tuesta, Director General of Armament.According to French defence officials, the meeting between the two sides also marked the formal launch of the Rafale marine programme , which already equips the Indian Air Force.Meanwhile, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi on Thursday attended the 12th Key Leader Engagement, which was hosted virtually by US Navy's Pacific fleet Admiral Stephen T. Koehler.Admiral Tripathi highlighted his vision on "achieving maritime security in the Indo-Pacific through innovation and technology" in the Key Leader Engagement on Wednesday, which involved 19 nations.The Indian Navy , in a post on X, said, "Adm Dinesh K Tripathi, CNS, attended the 12th Key Leader Engagement hosted virtually by Adm Stephen T Koehler, @USPacificFleet, on Jun 25, involving 19 nations. CNS highlighted his vision on 'Achieving Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific Through Innovation and Technology."Earlier, on June 13, Admiral Tripathi said that Operation Sindoor is on a pause, but it is an operation in progress.Speaking to ANI, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi said, "Operation Sindoor is under pause; it is still underway. As a naval chief, I will reserve my comments on this. It's an operation in progress."He also commented on evolving warfare technology, particularly non-contact warfare and counter-drone systems, underscoring their growing importance.On counter-drone systems, he said that non-contact warfare will stay, and this area of weapons and equipment was not catered to 10-12 years ago."It is undeniable that non-contact warfare is going to stay. In it, drones and loitering munitions, and therefore defence against them in terms of counter-drone systems, there is a whole series of weapons and equipment that one had probably not catered for 10-12 years ago," he said on Thursday.Reinforcing the focus on indigenous defence capabilities, Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, accompanied by Chairman of Solar Industries India Limited , Satyanarayan Nuwal, reviewed the manufacturing processes of various defence products at the firm's headquarters in Nagpur.Speaking to ANI, the Navy Chief lauded the products and progress made by Solar Industries India Ltd. He added that there needs to be synergy between the public and private sectors, as the latter is new in defence production."It's really eye-opening to see what progress has been made by Solar (Solar Group) in the last 14-15 years. As far as the synergy between the public and private sectors in the defence ecosystem is concerned, it is a must because some public sector companies have been working in this field for many decades, and private companies are relatively new. So there is a need for them to talk to each other and learn from each other," Admiral Tripathi told ANI.Chairman of Solar Industries India Ltd, Satyanarayan Nuwal, said that they showed the Navy Chief their drones and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and also showed the Navy officials their Counter-Unmanned Aerial System, Bhargavastra.Talking to ANI, Satyanarayan Nuwal said, "Today, we mainly showed our facility with drones and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). We showed the composite manufacturing unit of UAS. We also showed Bhargavastra (Counter-Unmanned Aerial System) to them... This counter-drone system is a significant thing... Considering present situations, we learnt that the biggest need is for long-range missiles. We have already presented a proposal in this regard..." (ANI)

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