Strategic allies India and France have decided to set up a joint task force for operational, military-logistical and political lessons learned from the ongoing war in Ukraine. The working group will have members selected from the ministries of national security and foreign affairs of both countries. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu met Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on November 28 to deepen seabed and space cooperation between the two countries, focusing on joint design, development and production of hardware platforms. In India under the banner of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ project.
India and France have also opted for synergy and cooperation in cyber security and space in terms of technology sharing and exchange of futuristic workable ideas. The Indo-French alliance led by Prime Minister Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron is now talking about joint research and development of jet engines, fighter jets, long-range submarines and hardware that are key to winning future wars.
Remove bureaucratic red tape within the Indian military
In a meeting with NSA Doval, it was decided that the two parties would jointly identify hardware projects on priority and then jointly develop them under the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative. Specific timelines will be set for each design, development and production of military products to remove bureaucratic red tape within the Indian military-civilian babudom. Products include platforms for subsurface marine time awareness on the surface and in the sky. With the Indian and French leaders basically on the same page on how to end the war in Ukraine, expert groups from the two countries will try to draw lessons from the ongoing war, which is currently hibernating and will erupt after the snow hardens in Ukraine.
Ukraine war is proving to be a quagmire for Russian troops
This will allow both sides to regroup and obtain much needed supplies to resume fighting on the ground. The Ukraine war is proving to be a quagmire for Russian troops due to low morale, poor logistical supply lines, a lack of spare parts, and an inability to control the airspace over Ukraine. The Ukrainian war effort, funded and supplied by the US, is in much better shape with US Stinger and Javelin missiles wreaking havoc on the Russian air force and armor on the ground. The Russian frontline in the Luhansk-Donbas region is also suffering from the use of long-range artillery and rockets.
The fact is that the Ukrainian war showed the effectiveness of distance weapons and the lack of a guarantee that a nuclear power with demonstrative weapons is enough to win a war on the ground. The India-France dialogue will further deepen when Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic advisor to French President Macron, comes to India for a strategic dialogue with NSA Ajit Doval in January 2023.
