France’s Naval Group partners with Nibe Ltd. to develop underwater drones, mine countermeasures
France's Naval Group and India's Nibe Limited (with its group companies) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on naval technologies
The scope covers underwater drones and their integration with submarines, mine countermeasure vessels and systems, underwater submarine systems, and modular, future-weapon-ready naval launching systems, along with related maintenance and engineering support
The agreement is a framework cooperation arrangement, not a binding commercial contract; no financial value or order size was disclosed
The partnership was positioned as advancing the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and the India-France Special Strategic Partnership
Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 and Private Sector Participation
The Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 governs how foreign and domestic defence firms structure partnerships for supplying the Indian armed forces, with a strong preference for indigenous design, development, and manufacture.
Key Details
- Buy (Indian-IDDM) — Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured — is the top-priority procurement category, requiring at least 50% indigenous content (raised from 40% under the earlier DPP)
- Indigenous content is calculated on the Base Contract Price (total contract price less taxes and duties)
- Categories reserved exclusively for Indian vendors (Buy Indian-IDDM, Make I, Make II) require FDI not exceeding 49%
- Foreign original equipment manufacturers increasingly enter India through technology-transfer MoUs and joint ventures with Indian private firms to qualify for these categories, rather than through direct imports
The Naval Group-Nibe MoU is structured as exactly this kind of technology-partnership route — enabling a French Tier-1 naval systems firm to feed indigenous content into future Indian mine-countermeasure and underwater-drone acquisitions via an Indian private-sector partner.
India-France Naval Cooperation: Project 75 Scorpene Submarines
Naval Group's engagement with Indian naval shipbuilding dates to Project 75, under which six Scorpene-class conventional submarines were built in India under licence.
Key Details
- A $3.5 billion contract was signed in 2005 between India and France (then DCNS, now Naval Group) for construction of six Scorpene submarines at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), Mumbai, involving transfer of technology
- The submarines are commissioned in Indian Navy service as the Kalvari-class
- Naval Group and MDL have since extended cooperation toward joint export of submarines to third countries, and discussions are underway for three additional Scorpene submarines with DRDO Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) integration
- Project 75 remains the principal reference model for France-India defence-industrial collaboration involving technology transfer
The new MoU extends the Naval Group-India collaboration model established under Project 75 — from submarine construction into adjacent domains of underwater drones and mine warfare — with a private Indian firm rather than a public-sector shipyard as the partner.
India's Mine Countermeasure Vessel (MCMV) Capability Gap
Mine countermeasure vessels detect and neutralise naval mines, a capability the Indian Navy has lacked in adequate numbers for over a decade due to a stalled indigenous procurement programme.
Key Details
- A 2004 Ministry of Defence programme sought 8-12 MCMVs to replace ageing Soviet-origin Pondicherry-class minesweepers, with South Korea's Kangnam Corporation selected to provide technology transfer to Goa Shipyard Limited
- The deal, valued at roughly ₹32,000 crore for 12 vessels, was cancelled in 2017-18 after Kangnam refused India's intellectual-property and production-support terms
- In 2025, the Navy revived a fresh proposal for 12 MCMVs at an estimated cost of around ₹45,000 crore, with delivery envisaged between 2030 and 2037
- India currently has no dedicated operational MCMVs, relying on ad hoc mine-clearance capability
The Naval Group-Nibe MoU's inclusion of "mine countermeasure vessels and systems" directly addresses this long-standing capability gap, offering an alternative technology-partnership route after the earlier South Korean deal collapsed.
India-France Horizon 2047 Strategic Roadmap
Horizon 2047 is the long-term bilateral roadmap adopted to mark 25 years of the India-France Strategic Partnership, structuring cooperation across defence, the Indo-Pacific, space, civil nuclear energy, and technology through to 2047 — the centenary of India's independence.
Key Details
- Built around three pillars: partnership for security and sovereignty, for the planet, and for the people
- Recent defence deliverables under this framework include the acquisition of 26 Rafale-M fighters for the Indian Navy, discussions on additional Scorpene submarines, a helicopter-engine cooperation agreement, and a BEL-Safran joint venture for HAMMER precision-guided munition production
- Reflects a stated shift from a buyer-seller defence relationship to co-development and co-production
The Naval Group-Nibe MoU on underwater drones and mine countermeasures is consistent with the co-development direction set by Horizon 2047, extending France-India naval-technology collaboration into private-sector-led, indigenously manufactured systems.
- MoU signing date: 18 September 2026, between Naval Group (France) and Nibe Limited (India)
- Scope: underwater drones/submarine integration, mine countermeasure vessels and systems, submarine systems and technologies, modular naval weapon launching systems, maintenance and engineering
- Nature of agreement: non-binding framework MoU; no disclosed financial value
- Project 75 reference point: 2005, $3.5 billion, six Scorpene (Kalvari-class) submarines, Mazagon Dock Limited
- India's MCMV programme: originally ₹32,000 crore/12 vessels (cancelled 2017-18); revived 2025 at an estimated ₹45,000 crore for 12 vessels, delivery 2030-2037
- DAP 2020 indigenous content threshold: minimum 50% for Buy (Indian-IDDM) and related categories