India-France Expand Defence Manufacturing with First Private Helicopter Assembly Line, HAMMER Weapons JV

India has inaugurated its first private-sector helicopter final assembly line for the H125 and announced a joint venture to produce HAMMER precision-guided munitions locally, expanding defence-industrial cooperation with France.

The helicopter final assembly line (FAL), set up by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) for Airbus, is located at Vemagal in Kolar, Karnataka state. It was inaugurated virtually by Narendra Modi and Emmanuel Macron, in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin and Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu.

“We are proud that India and France together are building the world’s only helicopter that can touch the heights of Mt Everest in India. This helicopter will be exported to the entire world,” MOdi said.

Vautrin said the project was discussed during Macron’s 2024 visit to India and completed within two years.

Singh said investment in the H125 programme is expected to exceed INR 1,000 crore (approx. $120 million) and generate direct and indirect employment. He noted earlier cooperation between Airbus and TASL on the C295 transport aircraft and said defence reforms have raised private sector participation to about a quarter of output, with over 16,000 MSMEs engaged and exports rising.

The FAL will handle manufacturing, integration, testing and maintenance of the civil H125, with capability for its military variant, H125M. The first India-built H125 is due in early 2027 and will be available for export within South Asia.

HAMMER missile joint venture

Separately, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Safran will form a joint venture to produce the HAMMER AASM precision-guided air-to-ground weapon in India.

In a February 16 stock exchange filing, BEL said its board approved signing a JV agreement with Safran Electronics and Defence, subject to regulatory and administrative clearances in both countries. The localisation move aims to reduce import dependence and expand domestic defence manufacturing under Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range), officially designated AASM, was used by India during Operation Sindoor against Pakistan in May last year and is integrated with the Air Force’s Rafale fleet. The missiles are expected to support the planned acquisition of 114 additional Rafale jets cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council on February 12 and can also be fitted on the indigenous LCA Tejas.

HAMMER is a French-designed modular kit that converts unguided bombs into precision-guided stand-off munitions using a nose guidance unit and tail-mounted range extension, typically with a rocket motor. Its range exceeds 60–70 km from high altitude and about 15 km at low altitude. It supports 125 kg to 1,000 kg warheads, with hybrid INS/GPS guidance and optional infrared or laser seekers, achieving accuracy of about 10 metres with INS/GPS and under one metre in IR or laser variants.

The system can be fitted to standard bomb bodies such as Mk 82 and Mk 84, enabling stand-off, off-axis and steep-trajectory strikes in all-weather and electronic warfare conditions. It operates on a fire-and-forget basis, allowing aircraft to disengage after release.