Indian Navy Chief to Visit French Air and Naval Bases

Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee and Indian Navy Chief is touring France this week where he will be visiting the French Airbase at Landivisiau and the French Submarine Facility at Cherbourg. He will be briefed on the operational employability of the Rafale aircraft by the French Air Force. During his visit Admiral Sunil Lanba will hold bilateral discussions with Ms Florence Parly, Defence Minister of France, General Francois Lecointre, Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Christophe Prazuck, Chief of French Navy, General Joel Barre, Director General Armament and other officials to explore new avenues of defence cooperation, an Indian MoD release said. Following Indias purchase of 36 Rafale Jets, Dassault is angling for a follow-on order an equal number of aircraft. In addition, India has a requirement for carrier-based jets for which France has offered the naval version of the Rafale jet. On the Naval side, Naval Group (formerly DCNS) is in the process of delivering the Scorpene submarines to the Indian Navy and is in the race for a multi-billion dollar plan to build additional submarines in India.