France Shows Interest in Indian Long-Range Rockets and Anti-Drone Systems

France’s defence circles are showing strong interest in India’s indigenous long-range rocket systems, loitering munitions, and counter-drone (C-UAS) technologies following their impressive performance during Operation Sindoor. The operation, which highlighted India’s growing capability in precision-strike and battlefield automation, has reportedly caught the attention of French military planners, who now see Indian systems as potential assets for Europe’s rapidly evolving security landscape.

According to defence sources, French officials have initiated discussions with Indian counterparts over the possible evaluation and procurement of systems such as the Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL), as well as new-generation Indian loitering munitions that have proven both reliable and cost-effective in real operations. The French military is particularly impressed by the way Indian C-UAS systems performed in neutralising multiple swarm threats, using a mix of electronic jamming and kinetic interception during the operation.

France’s interest stems from both operational and industrial motives. Operationally, the French Army has been seeking to rebuild its long-range rocket artillery capability, which was largely reduced after the retirement of older systems. The country currently relies on CAESAR self-propelled howitzers and is developing its own “Foudre” MLRS project with a planned range of around 100–150 km. However, Indian rockets like Pinaka Mk-II ER, with a range of up to 90 km and ongoing development toward 120–200 km, already offer a mature, tested, and scalable system ready for deployment. This makes Pinaka a strong candidate to fill France’s short-term range gap while its own system is still in the prototype phase.

In the field of loitering munitions, France currently deploys imported or domestically modified systems for surveillance and limited strike roles but lacks a large-scale, cost-effective family of combat-proven loitering drones. India, by contrast, has successfully fielded several models, including Tata Advanced Systems’ Advanced Loitering System and the Nagastra-1 and 2 series developed by Solar Industries. These systems have demonstrated high accuracy, autonomous targeting, and long endurance, making them attractive for tactical battlefield integration at brigade and battalion levels.

When it comes to counter-drone warfare, France has made strides with its HELMA-P laser system and Parade mobile anti-drone platforms, but these systems are designed primarily for protecting large installations and are expensive to deploy widely. India’s C-UAS ecosystem, developed by DRDO and private firms, offers portable, layered anti-drone solutions capable of both soft-kill (jamming and spoofing) and hard-kill (micro-rocket or laser) responses at a fraction of the cost. During Operation Sindoor, these systems demonstrated the ability to detect and disable multiple small UAVs simultaneously — a key factor behind France’s renewed interest in Indian technology.

Cost-effectiveness is another major factor. Indian systems, while technologically advanced, are produced at significantly lower costs due to local manufacturing and simplified logistics chains. For France, which has been ramping up its defence spending since the war in Ukraine but still faces budget constraints, Indian systems present a practical solution for scaling up capabilities without overshooting fiscal limits.

Beyond procurement, French defence firms see an opportunity for industrial cooperation. Joint development or local assembly of Indian systems in France or other European countries could fit into Paris’s broader goal of diversifying supply chains while maintaining strategic autonomy. Such collaboration would not only boost India’s defence export ambitions but also strengthen Indo-French defence ties, which already include major projects such as the Rafale fighters, Scorpène-class submarines, and Safran-HAL helicopter engine programmes.

In essence, France’s interest in India’s rocket, loitering, and C-UAS systems reflects a changing dynamic in global defence trade. No longer merely a buyer of Western technology, India is emerging as a credible exporter of advanced, battle-tested systems that combine modern engineering with affordability. For France, the attraction lies not just in the hardware itself but in the operational credibility these systems have earned in real-world conditions. If discussions progress, this could mark the beginning of a new phase in Indo-French defence cooperation — one where technology flows in both directions.