The initial programme covers 12 vessels, with the requirement potentially expanding to 59. Mine warfare remains a significant capability gap for the Navy, which has not operated a dedicated minesweeper since INS Kozhikode, the last of its Soviet-origin Pondicherry-class vessels, was decommissioned in April 2019.<\/p>\n
The partnership also extends to India\u2019s emerging light-tank capability. Belgian defence major John Cockerill Defense has signed an agreement with L&T for turrets for the Zorawar light tank, being developed for high-altitude operations along the LAC. Its 3105 turret is already fitted on the DRDO-L&T Zorawar prototypes, which have undergone high-altitude and desert trials.<\/p>\n
Thales Belgium and Kalyani Strategic Systems will assemble 70mm rockets in India, with the first fully India-manufactured rocket expected in early 2027. Kalyani is separately exploring a joint production centre with Belgian arms maker FN Herstal covering small arms and counter-drone equipment.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, John Cockerill\u2019s 60:40 joint venture with Electro Pneumatics & Hydraulics, established in March last year, is to manufacture 59 turrets at a facility in Chakan near Pune. The Army has an eventual requirement for 354 Zorawar light tanks.<\/p>\n
Another Belgian company, OIP Sensor Systems, which has supplied more than 130 sights for the Arjun Mk I tanks, is partnering India Optel Ltd on electro-optical systems, including a fire-control system for the Arjun Mk II capable of supporting laser-guided missile launches.<\/p>\n
Belgian ammunition specialist Lachauss\u00e9e has also agreed to supply Tembo Classic Engineering with a complete production line for two ammunition calibres, with tooling for two additional calibres. The proposed facility will have a capacity of about 100 million rounds annually and is valued at roughly \u20ac50 million, with installation planned during 2028-29.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The initial programme covers 12 vessels, with the requirement potentially expanding to 59. Mine warfare remains a significant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3531,38,14,5187],"class_list":["post-8832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-ammunition","tag-defence","tag-defence-industry","tag-india-and-belgium"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}