New Delhi: India’s state-run Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and French firm Safran Electronics and Defence (SED) have signed a joint venture cooperation agreement (JVCA) for the production of Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (HAMMER) smart precision-guided air-to-ground weapon system, in India.
The agreement formalises the intent expressed in the MoU signed between BEL and SED on 11 February, 2025 during Aero India, reaffirming the willingness of both sides to incorporate a potential joint venture company (JVC) in India, the defence ministry said in a statement Monday.
It added that the JVC shall be formed as a private limited company with 50:50 shareholding. It will localise manufacturing, supply and maintenance of HAMMER, integrated with Rafale fighters of the Indian Air Force and Navy’s Rafale Marine aircraft, to meet operational needs of the two services.
The indigenisation level will progressively increase up to 60 percent with key sub-assemblies, electronics and mechanical parts being manufactured locally.
The transfer of production will happen in a phased manner with BEL leading final assembly, testing and quality assurance, the MoD said.
ThePrint reported in July 2021 that to deploy the then newly inducted Rafale aircraft expeditiously amid heightened tensions with China, IAF opted for the HAMMER—a system the force rejected eight years ago in favour of the Israeli Spice 2000 used in the Balakot strikes.
The HAMMER consists of a guidance kit and a range extension kit fitted on standard bombs of different makes. It was kept out of the 2016 contract for 36 Rafale fighter jets and the weapons package due to its cost, which would have inflated the price of the contract.
The system was then procured under procurement powers extended to the IAF for emergency procurement of up to Rs 300 crore.
HAMMER was also bought because the Rafale lacked a proper air-to-surface precision missile for a shorter range of about 70 km to take out hardened surfaces, bunkers. The original plan was to equip the Rafale with Spice 2000 kits, which have already been integrated into the other French aircraft in the IAF inventory—the Mirage 2000.
However, given the tensions with China, a decision was taken to buy the HAMMER and not go for the Israeli weapon because it would have meant higher costs and more time.
The HAMMER, as its full name suggests, is highly agile, and fit for operations in mountainous terrain like Ladakh.
The HAMMER comes with a Talios pod for firing, but as reported by ThePrint earlier, IAF has opted for the Israeli Litening Pod for the Rafale to ensure sensor commonality across platforms in the Indian inventory and also to keep the cost low, since Talios came at a price nearly double that of the Israeli system.
Incidentally, Sagem, a Safran high-tech company that makes the HAMMER, in April 2016 signed an agreement with the now scam-tainted OIS-AT, owned by Sanjay Bhandari, for manufacturing the weapon system in India.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)