— To prevent: on the border between the diplomatic and military action, it allows France to assert the current foreign policy in full independence;

— To deter and to protect: the ability to move from a conventional mission to a nuclear mission strengthens the deterrence and offers the possibility of a prominent or discrete, gradual and reversible increase of power;

— To intervene: the absence of constraints makes the strike group a privileged tool of power-projection.

The aircraft carrier is therefore a strategic tool, as mentioned in our strategic defence review, an instrument of prevention and protection. She is one of the actors of the deterrence policy, her single pre-positioning being a strong political signal.
The evolving context means an increased need for escorts, in order to protect the aircraft carrier against a variety of threats. Warfare in the littorals differs from the open sea because of the proximity of landmass, short distances and shallowness of water. As noted in current crisis, the employment zone for embarked aircraft is becoming further and further away from the carrier. Therefore there is an increasing need for long range fighters or air to air refuelling, but also more space for ammunitions storage and aircraft maintenance on the flight deck and in the hangar.

And last, lessons learned from recent conflicts demonstrate the need to operate as a coalition and highlights the importance of interoperable communication systems, even for the carrier air wing.

What has been achieved in bilateral interaction and exercises between French and Indian navies and what is the roadmap for the future?

Franco-Indian military cooperation has been developed over many years and the existing relationship between both navies is excellent. It reached a strategic level in 1998 and has been enriched by numerous agreements since then. A common defence committee is held every year, providing the opportunity for our bilateral relationship to grow even stronger. Both countries share the same perspective on numerous security and defence questions such as terrorism, multilateralism or the role of international organisations. The cooperation between the French and Indian navies continues to develop through joint exercises, among which ‘Varuna’ is the most important. This naval training which has been going on for nearly 10 years, offers the opportunity for sea and air assets from both nations to interact and to improve their coordination on an annual basis. The latest edition of this exercise occurred in June 2009 in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the first time ‘Varuna’ was not conducted in the Indian Ocean.