Army Chief to visit Marseille for briefing on French army’s 3rd division and “Scorpion” modernisation programme

Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi will visit Marseille on Tuesday to be “briefed’ on the French Army’s 3rd Division, joint exercise SHAKTI, and modernisation programme “Scorpion,” followed by a live demonstration in Carpiagne the next day.

According to an official statement from the Ministry of Defence, “On 25th February 2025, General Dwivedi will travel to Marseille, where he will visit the 3rd Division of the French Army and will be briefed on the mission and role of the 3rd Division, the bilateral exercise SHAKTI, India-France training cooperation, and the French Army modernisation programme (Scorpion). “

“The following day, General Dwivedi will visit Carpiagne to witness a dynamic demonstration of the Scorpion Division with live firing exercises,”the MoD added.

General Dwivedi is on an official visit to France from February 24 to 27, as part of “efforts to bolster India-France defence cooperation.”

On Monday, The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) met senior French military officials at Les Invalides. The day began with a Guard of Honour, followed by discussions with General Schill. “The aim of the meeting will be to foster stronger military ties between the two nations,” the Defence Ministry statement added.

He also visited the Ecole Militaire, a well-known military school in Paris, where he was briefed on Future Combat Command (CCF). Additionally, he was briefed at the Technical Section of the French Army (STAT) and visited the Battle Lab Terre in Versailles.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the COAS will visit the Neuve Chapelle Indian War Memorial, where he will lay a wreath in honour of Indian soldiers who fought in World War I. Later, he will deliver a talk at the Ecole de Guerre, the French Joint Staff College, focusing on modern warfare and India’s strategic vision.

“General Dwivedi’s visit aims to strengthen the military collaboration between India and France, exploring new avenues of cooperation and enhancing strategic partnerships between the two nations’ armed forces,” the MoD statement added.

The visit by the COAS comes days after India and France held a Bilateral Dialogue on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in Paris on February 14. During the dialogue, both sides discussed developments in disarmament and non-proliferation related to nuclear, chemical, and biological domains, as well as outer space security, conventional weapons, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the military domain, lethal autonomous weapons systems, and multilateral export control regimes.