India and Belgium are in talks to form a task force to take ahead bilateral defence partnership between the two countries. The move comes at a time when two companies from Belgium have entered into defence engagement with their Indian counterparts on integration of rocket systems over armoured vehicles and light weight tanks.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi in our meeting said a task force should be formed here in India and in Belgium to give structure to our bilateral defence relationship. I will go back and share this with my Prime Minister and do accordingly,” Theo Francken told journalists as he expressed gratitude for Indian soldiers fighting for their country during World War I.

With Belgium foreign minister Maxime Prevot also next to him in the press meet, Francken stated that they have decided to depute a senior military officer as a defence attaché in their embassy at New Delhi to lend focus and seriousness to the bilateral defence business.

The Belgium Defence Minister said that during his meeting with Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh, he invited Indian Navy to participate in their Navy Day, which would mark formal engagement between the two navies.

A large Belgium delegation of over 300 people representing 200 companies is here in India from March 2 to March 7 on economic mission to explore business opportunities.

Business ties

Of them, John Cockerill Defence and Thales Belgium have cemented business ties with Indian companies to tap into potential domestic military market here.

The John Cockerill Defence (JCD), which has worked in India in the steel sector and green hydrogen space, has formed a joint venture (JV) with Electro Pneumatics & Hydraulics Pvt Ltd (EPHL) for co-manufacturing, assembling and commissioning of turrets (which is a rotating heavily armoured structure on a tank connecting the gun to the hull) for light weight tank ‘Zorawar’, jointly developed by the DRDO and the L&T, for the Indian Army to operate at high altitude as well as in desert.

The Indian Army is looking at deploying over 350 light tanks and the number may swell subsequently, the Belgium company officials said in an interaction with media.

To align with aatmanirbharta in defence sector, the JV will be in 60:40 ratio, with JCD having majority share to bring the turret technology in India.

John Cockerill, a global leader in this segment, will for the first time produce turrets in a country outside of Europe.

JCD has been exporting turrets to ten countries and has only one assembling facility outside Belgium in Saudi Arabia, Thierry Renaudin, CEO and a member of the management board of JCD, said.

The turrets to be manufactured here will have 50 per cent Indian content and Renaudin said that his company may consider handing over metallurgy know how also to the Indian partner.

“John Cockerill is a partner to India in making the country a manufacturing hub for the world,” he stated.

As of now, John Cockerill has supplied one turret for the L&T manufactured prototype of Zorawar which has completed winter field trials.

It’s in the process of supplying second turret for another Zorawar prototye which is due to undergo summers trials soon. This is part of over 59 turrets that the John Cockerill and EPHL will supply to the L&T from their facility in Chakan, Pune, Maharashtra, Ashley Rasquinha, Jt Managing Director of EPHL said.

Similarly, Thales Belgium and defence PSU Armoured Vehicle Nigam Ltd (AVNL) are engaging together in a collaboration for integration of 70mm rocket system on vehicles for Indian armed forces.

A key milestone in 2025 will be a joint show of combined capacities including a firing demonstration, the Belgium embassy officials said.

Thales Belgium is also equipping ALH-WSI helicopter, produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, with launchers and rockets for Indian Army and Indian Air-Force and is engaged in this program since more than 20 years, said the embassy.

In the coming year, the fleet of helicopters equipped with Thales Belgium Rocket Launchers will double to reach a total of more than 250 platforms.