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.
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