New Delhi: India and France have signed an ambitious and unprecedented Defence Space Agreement that could see the two countries launch military satellites with both offensive and defensive capabilities, people familiar with the matter said.
The deal, not publicised or spoken of, was quietly signed by French Defence Minister Sebastien Locornu and India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on January 26, even as French President Emmanuel Macron was attending the “At Home” Republic Day reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Letter of Intent (LoI) on the Defence Space Partnership signed between the two countries opens the door for the two allies to partner in the area of space defence and to together build defence capacities and operational capabilities for better global situational awareness, protection of communication and surveillance satellites, and making the battle-field more transparent in air, land and sea.
While the Modi government is tight-lipped about the defence space partnership with France, India’s oldest civilian space partner, the LoI paves the way for the space agencies of the two countries to jointly develop and launch military satellites to protect national security interests. The military satellites will not only protect the space assets of India in the worst-case scenario but also track the moves of adversaries.
HT learns that President Macron conveyed to his Indian interlocutors that there are “no limits” to French support to India in defence including designing, developing, manufacturing and certification of new platforms that will be specifically built to suit the requirements of the two countries