PARIS, Jan 15: France’s Direction de la Construction Navale (DCN) said on Wednesday it was developing a ‘‘revolutionary’’ fuel-operated 200kw battery that will equip its new generation submarines by 2006.

The announcement comes just as the French Senate puts the final touches on a 94 billion dollars five-year defence appropriations law that is to be voted this week.

The potential market for such fuel-operated batteries is estimated by DCN International, the export arm of the French arms manufacturer, at 10.5 billion dollars by 2010.

France’s new government has made a point of requiring such State-subsidized bodies as DCN to become more self-sustaining, going to the point of intensely promoting French exports of its arms to such parts of the world as the Gulf and Indian subcontinent - where Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is expected to engage in talks with Indian defence authorities early next month.

Already, French defence minister Michele Alliot-Marie has made her way to the Gulf to promote the sale of French military hardware to that part of the world.

The order for development of the Pile a combustible (PAC) has just been filed with Helion, a French company.