In News:

• India has signed an agreement with France’s Safran to jointly manufacture, customise, supply, and maintain the HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) precision-guided air-to-ground weapon system in India.
• The production will take place through a 50:50 joint venture between Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Safran.

What is HAMMER (AASM)?

• HAMMER, also known as Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM), is a modular precision-guided munition that converts unguided “dumb” bombs into smart stand-off weapons using guidance and propulsion kits.
• It provides missile-like accuracy at significantly lower cost than cruise missiles.

Developer & Indian Manufacturing

Key Technical Features

• Modular Design
  • Nose-mounted guidance kit
  • Tail-mounted range-extension/propulsion kit
  • Compatible with standard bomb bodies (125 kg to 1,000 kg, including Mk-80 series)
• Multiple Guidance Options
  • INS-GPS → All-weather precision
  • INS-GPS + Infrared (IR) → High-precision fixed targets
  • Laser guidance → Moving targets
• Stand-off Capability
  • Equipped with rocket booster and winglets
  • Allows aircraft to strike from outside enemy air-defence range
  • Can be launched at off-axis angles
• High Accuracy
  • CEP (Circular Error Probability):
    • ~10 m (INS-GPS)
    • ~1 m (IR guidance)
• Platform Integration
  • Already integrated with Dassault Rafale
  • Planned integration with HAL Tejas