Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has signed a joint venture cooperation agreement (JVCA) with Safran’s subsidiary Safran Electronics and Defense (SED) for local manufacturing of Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (HAMMER) air-to-ground weapon system in India.
The agreement was signed by BEL chairman and managing director, Manoj Jain, and SED global defence business unit head Alexandre Ziegler on 24 November 2025 in New Delhi, India.
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This agreement follows a memorandum of understanding announced between the two companies at the Aero India show on 11 February 2025.
BEL and the France-based SED intend to establish a private limited joint venture company (JVC) in India with equal shareholding.
The new entity will handle localisation of manufacturing, supply, and maintenance of HAMMER weapons for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.
The level of indigenisation is expected to gradually reach up to 60%, including production of key sub-assemblies, electronics and mechanical parts within India, a statement from India’s Ministry of Defence said.
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By GlobalDataBEL will have responsibility for final assembly, testing, and quality assurance as part of a phased transfer of production activities from SED.
In a statement published on LinkedIn, BEL said: “This agreement underscores BEL’s commitment to strengthening India’s defence industrial base and aims at leveraging SED’s extensive experience in manufacturing of smart precision guided air-to-ground weapon.”
HAMMER is a smart precision guided system capable of adapting in multiple platforms.
The system is currently used with various platforms, including the Rafale and the light combat aircraft Tejas.
In 2016, OIS Advanced Technology (OIS-AT), another Indian manufacturer, entered into a strategic partnership with Sagem, the previous name of SED, for production of the AASM Hammer bomb guidance and glide kit in India.
However, in June 2019, the Indian Defence Ministry barred all business dealings and transactions with Offset India Solutions (OIS) and its group companies or functionaries linked to arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari until further notice, ANI reported.
