French Army Brigadier General Stephane Richou said his country is evaluating Pinaka MBRL’s capabilities. Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers can reach a target that exceeds 75 km and can fire 12 rockets in 44 seconds.
A top French Army officer revealed that they were evaluating the Indian Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher systems for their requirements. Visited India for talks, Brigadier Gen Richou said that two countries share much more than just a business relationship and want to cooperate more in the field of defence sector.
The Pinaka MBRL is developed by the DRDO and make by agencies including Solar Industries, L&T and Tata. The rocket system which can hit targets at 75 kilometres and beyond with its multiple variants has already been an export successfully in various countries.
Armenia has already ordered Pinaka rockets from India to defend itself against neighbouring Azerbaijan. Other nations have also expressed their interest.
The rocket system was discussed with the French officials during a high-level visit by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan earlier this year.
India has been pushing the indigenous systems for export markets & Modi Government has been able to achieve success by 3X since 2014. Notably, France is the second largest importer of Indian defence equipment after US with a lot of electronics items going there from India.
Earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron visited India and finalised a deal to jointly produce defense equipment like helicopters and submarines for the Indian armed forces.
