How Bharat Innovates Is Marking The Next Phase Of India-France Defence Partnership
How Bharat Innovates Is Marking The Next Phase Of India-France Defence Partnership Written By, Last Updated: June 16, 2026, 17:15 IST Bharat Innovates was not
How Bharat Innovates Is Marking The Next Phase Of India-France Defence Partnership Written By, Last Updated: June 16, 2026, 17:15 IST Bharat Innovates was not a showcase. It was a statement of where India intends to go. Rapid Read Bharat Innovates brought 120 Indian deep-tech start-ups to the Palais des Expositions in Nice from June 14 to 16. For decades, the India-France defence partnership was defined by iconic platforms such as Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene submarines, platforms procured, delivered, and operated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron jointly inaugurating Bharat Innovates 2026 in Nice on June 14 suggests that era is closing, and a different one is beginning, one centred on deep-tech collaboration, advanced manufacturing, and the technologies that will define future warfare. Organised by India’s Ministry of Education, Bharat Innovates brought 120 Indian deep-tech start-ups to the Palais des Expositions in Nice from June 14 to 16, placing them in front of global investors, research institutions, and industry partners as part of the India-France Year of Innovation. It covered sectors from healthcare to agritech to clean energy. But Space and Defence was among the largest cohorts on the floor, and those companies were not there by coincidence. For India, the event was a working demonstration of Aatmanirbhar Bharat: leveraging global partnerships not to import capability, but to co-develop and manufacture it at home. India’s innovation base The 120 start-ups were selected from over 3,000 applicants, collectively holding more than 1,500 patents. Over 500 global investors attended alongside corporate leaders from European aerospace and defence majors. PM Modi told the gathering that India is ‘no longer just a consumer of solutions, but a contributor of solutions.’ What India brought to the floor The defence and dual-use companies at Nice came with products, IP, and in several cases, operational deployments. The range of what they make tells its own story. Drones, swarms and counter-drone systems ideaForge, already a supplier to India’s armed forces, builds high-endurance UAV platforms for ISR. Raphe mPhibr manufactures military-grade aircraft systems end to end. BotLab Dynamics builds drone swarm technology under the brand Vayudh. EndureAir Systems makes heavy-lift UAV platforms and robotic flight control hardware.
On the counter side, Gurutvaa Systems builds AI-enabled platforms for detecting, tracking, and neutralising aerial threats. NewSpace Research and Technologies builds autonomous swarm systems and stratospheric platforms. Electro-optics and targeting Tonbo Imaging produces tactical EO and infrared optronics across land, naval, airborne, and missile platforms, thermal sights, gimballed payloads, and precision munition seekers. EON Space Labs builds miniaturised EO and infrared payloads for drones and satellites. Optimised Electrotech makes long-range intelligent surveillance systems for border defence. Propulsion and aerospace manufacturing Nabhdrishti Aerospace builds an indigenous turbojet engine in the 20 to 400-plus kgf range for UAV and defence applications at a claimed three to five times cost advantage over imported alternatives. Dheya Engineering Technologies produces micro gas turbine engines and green hydrogen propulsion systems. Fabheads Automation makes automated composite manufacturing systems for airframe production. Maritime and undersea Rekise Marine builds autonomous surface and underwater vehicles with a sovereign AI autonomy stack for Indian Navy ISR. EyeROV makes indigenous marine robotics including remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicles. Space and orbital intelligence Digantara Industries builds space domain awareness platforms for defending orbital assets. GalaxEye develops multi-sensor satellite imagery for all-weather earth observation. Dhruva Space provides integrated satellite platforms and ground station services. OrbitAID Aerospace builds on-orbit satellite servicing and refuelling capability. Quantum, semiconductors and communications QNu Labs demonstrated a hybrid quantum security system combining Quantum Key Distribution and post-quantum cryptography. Its CEO told ANI in Nice: “The world is in grave danger today, AI and quantum computers are going to break encryption, which underpins our digital economy." Agnit Semiconductors, India’s first GaN RF semiconductor company, builds end-to-end materials-to-modules integration for defence, space, and radar systems. Netrasemi’s edge AI chip is optimised for surveillance cameras, drones, and robotics. What their presence at Nice actually means India did not send these companies to France so France could sell them something. It sent them because India now has technologies that European defence supply chains increasingly need, and France, more than most partners, has shown a willingness to engage on more equal terms. The drone and counter-drone companies address a gap that every NATO member is scrambling to fill after Ukraine demonstrated the asymmetric lethality of low-cost autonomous systems.
The BriefWire