Missed Launch?

France’s apparent retreat from India’s Pinaka rocket system underscores the enduring pull of defence sovereignty and the limits of New Delhi’s military export ambitions.

In 2023, when Brigadier General Stéphane Richou of the French Army praised India’s Pinaka rocket artillery system, it seemed a historic deal was in the offing. For India, it was a chance to export a homegrown high-tech weapon to one of Europe’s foremost military powers. But if latest reports are to be believed, that promise appears to be fizzling fast. France has apparently decided to go it alone by choosing to build its own analogue of America’s HIMARS system rather than buy Indian.

The volte-face is telling. Despite years of strengthening defence ties between Paris and New Delhi, underpinned by big-ticket deals such as the Rafale jets and Scorpène submarines, there are limits to the friendship especially when national defence industries are involved. France, like India, has been jolted by the war in Ukraine into rethinking its dependence on foreign arms. Its decision to develop an indigenous multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS), known as Frappe Longue Portée Terrestre (FLP-T), reflects this deeper shift: a rearmament drive rooted in autonomy.

The French Armed Forces currently rely on the Lance-Roquettes Unitaire (LRU), a modified version of America’s M270 MLRS. But the LRU will retire by 2027. In its place, France now plans to field a domestically developed rocket artillery system by 2035. The €600 million program is part of a broader €413 billion French defence budget plan stretching to 2030.

There is a larger geopolitical rationale. HIMARS (the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) has become a battlefield celebrity in Ukraine, famed for its precision and mobility. With ranges of up to 300km for tactical missiles, it has helped Ukraine pulverise Russian supply lines and command posts. But European capitals are wary of over-reliance on American kit, given Donald Trump’s rhetoric of browbeating NATO allies to raise defence spending. This has forced many European nations to reassess their military procurement strategies. In this light, France’s new rocket program is not just a technical upgrade but a statement of strategic intent.

That, alas, is where India’s Pinaka comes up short. Designed as a replacement for the Soviet-era BM-21 Grad, the Pinaka system boasts shoot-and-scoot capabilities. India has deployed it in the Himalayas, and several African and Southeast Asian countries have expressed interest.

The system’s export potential has been championed by the Modi government as a symbol of India’s rise as a defence-industrial power.

Yet for all its virtues, Pinaka was never likely to supplant France’s instinct for defence self-sufficiency. French lawmakers and military planners have made clear that building at home means controlling the supply chain, guaranteeing availability, and safeguarding jobs. Buying Indian would have been cheaper and quicker, but at the cost of long-term autonomy.

This turn of events is not without irony. India and France have been drawing closer for years, aligned by shared concerns over China’s rise, mutual interest in Indo-Pacific stability and a joint distaste for overdependence on America. From nuclear submarines to space cooperation, their partnership has deepened. France remains India’s most consistent supporter in Europe, with President Emmanuel Macron a frequent guest in New Delhi.

But friendship has its limits, especially when defence industries and geostrategic calculations collide. For India, the Pinaka deal is a reminder that technological parity is not the same as market competitiveness. India’s private defence sector, though capable, still lacks the brand trust, after-sales infrastructure, and diplomatic heft that France or the US can muster.

The lesson for India is clear. To win over Western buyers, India will need to do more than showcase operationally effective systems.

France, for its part, is signalling that the era of European dependence on American arms is over. In doing so, it has snubbed India’s best chance yet at a marquee weapons export. But the door is not shut. As India’s systems evolve and as Europe seeks to diversify its defence options, there may yet be room for future collaboration - though not, it seems, on rocket launchers.