HAMMER Missiles & H-125 Helicopters: India-France Build Big in Bengaluru
India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is meeting France's Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin in Bengaluru on February 17, and this is a moment every Indian should care about. Why? Because India is finally getting serious about making weapons that can protect our borders, not just buying them from others. But before you think this is just another political meeting, let me explain what's really at stake here. The dialogue will review the entire gamut of bilateral defence cooperation, with a focus on expanding industrial collaboration, and that collaboration is going to change how India defends itself.
Catherine Vautrin is coming to Bengaluru specifically because this city represents everything India-France partnership is about. But here's the exciting part—she's not just coming for talks. She will travel to nearby Vemagal in Karnataka to personally witness India's first privately-built helicopter assembly factory. This is massive. When a French Defence Minister travels to see a manufacturing facility being inaugurated, it shows France's commitment to building weapons together with India, not just selling them to us. Our tech capital hosting defence tech collaboration shows that India means business.
Now, let's clear up something important about HAMMER. It is NOT an air-to-air missile that dogfights with enemy aircraft. HAMMER is an air-to-surface weapon, which means fighter jets drop it on ground targets like bunkers, military installations, and hardened structures. Think of it this way: air-to-air missiles are for fighting other aircraft in the sky, but HAMMER is for hitting enemies on the ground from the air. HAMMER transforms standard unguided munitions into long-range precision strike weapons, enabling Indian pilots to neutralize hardened, high-value targets from safe stand-off distances with exceptional accuracy under all-weather conditions. This is crucial because our pilots can stay far from enemy defence systems and still hit their targets accurately.
Which aircraft will use HAMMER? Here's where it gets exciting. The joint venture will supply HAMMER systems for the Indian Air Force's Rafale fleet, the Indian Navy's Rafale-M fighters, and all variants of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft. So our Rafale fighter jets already use it, and now our own homegrown Tejas will get this powerful weapon. Every modern fighter we have can carry HAMMER. Each fighter jet can carry up to six HAMMER missiles at once, meaning one aircraft can hit six different targets in a single mission. The missile weighs about 330 kilograms and nails precise hits even in high-altitude spots. It's "fire-and-forget"—lock on the target, launch it, and you're done. With a range of 70 kilometers, our pilots can strike enemy bunkers and fortified positions from mountainous terrain like Ladakh without risking their aircraft.
Now, about the H125 helicopter Catherine will witness in person. This is a light utility helicopter that does rescue missions, emergency medical transport, and disaster relief. The Airbus H125 can carry a crew of two pilots and up to six passengers, with a useful load of 1,075 kilograms. Most importantly, the H125 is the only helicopter to have landed on Mount Everest, demonstrating its agility in high-altitude, extreme environments. It can operate in high-and-hot conditions and be easily reconfigured for aerial work, firefighting, law enforcement, rescue, air ambulance, and passenger transport. India will manufacture these in Vemagal, and Catherine will see this cutting-edge facility with her own eyes. The plant will produce the Airbus H125 civil helicopter with initial capacity of 10 units yearly, scaling up to 500 helicopters over two decades.
Why is Catherine Vautrin's visit so significant? She is here to sign agreements worth billions. A defence cooperation agreement will be renewed for another 10 years. An MoU for manufacturing Hammer missiles will be signed. But here's something equally important that shows real trust: India and France will launch an "Officer Exchange Program." This means Indian Army officers will actually be stationed inside French military units in France for months, learning how French soldiers work, eat, train, and fight. At the same time, French Army officers will be posted in Indian military establishments. They'll live with us, learn our tactics, understand our terrain, and share their expertise. This is the ultimate sign of trust between nations. Only countries that truly believe in each other do this.
Prime Minister Modi and French President Macron will virtually inaugurate the Tata Airbus H125 helicopter assembly line at Vemagal, and Catherine will witness this historic moment in person at the facility itself.
This is India telling the world: we are not just buying defence equipment anymore, we are making it ourselves with our trusted allies. India is moving from dependency to self-reliance, and Karnataka is where this revolution begins. When Indian soldiers carry HAMMER missiles designed and built in India, when Indian rescue operations use helicopters assembled in Vemagal, when our officers learn from French soldiers in their homeland and vice versa, that's when "Atmanirbhar Bharat" becomes real. This visit is not just diplomacy; it's India's declaration of defence independence.
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
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VHP slams Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge for 'money laundering' comment on RSS
Nagpur (PTI): The Vishva Hindu Parishad on Monday slammed Karnataka Congress minister Priyank Kharge for linking the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to money laundering and asserted such statements were part of a strategy to insult patriotic organisations and defame patriots.
Kharge, while speaking at an event in Bengaluru on Sunday, cited the RSS' "network of more than 2,500 organisations, they are from America, England" to allege "these people are into money laundering".
Addressing a press conference here, VHP national organisational secretary Milind Parande said such statements will reduce the acceptance in society of those making them.
"They are trying to increase their credibility and trying to indulge in appeasement (with such remarks), both of which will not succeed. There are many forces and persons in India who have a problem with the awakening of Hindutva. They are coming up with such nonsense. Using such words and insulting patriotic organisations shows their intellectual bankruptcy," he said.
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"It will reduce their acceptance in society. What he (Kharge) said is absolutely false and even they know it. But they do it as a strategy to defame patriots. The people of Karnataka must think whether such people should be brought back to power. Hence, the VHP always asserts those who believe in the interests of Hindus must be in power at the Centre and in the states," Parande added.
Asked about the BNP winning polls in Bangladesh and whether it will improve the conditions of the Hindus there, Parande said it is expected that the community is protected irrespective of who is in power. So far, people there have been incapable of protecting Hindus, he said in reference to attacks on the community since the Sheikh Hasina government fell following an uprising in August 2024.
Asserting that most of the violence has been sponsored by political parties, Parande said, "The Hindu community is in a very dangerous situation in Bangladesh."
He also refused to comment on the face-off between the Uttar Pradesh government and Swami Avimukteshwaranand during Magh Mela festivities in Prayagraj. A controversy erupted on Mauni Amavasya morning at the Sangam Nose when police, citing heavy crowd pressure, allegedly stopped the seer from proceeding to the Sangam in a palanquin along with a large number of supporters.
The VHP as a practice does not give a statement on disputes between saints as it would not be appropriate, Parande said.
Without taking the name of Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, the VHP leader said it was surprising anyone from the state can make such a remark about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Congress leader has courted controversy by equating 18th Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan with the founder of the Maratha Empire.
On some persons sprinkling cow urine to purify a temple in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar following the visit of Muslim Shiv Sena MLA Abdul Sattar in Sillod on Mahashivratri on Sunday, Parande said places of worship must be visited by those who have faith.
Without genuine sentiment, it becomes a mere political stunt, he said.
"Religion should never be exploited for political gain, as that insults faith," Parande said while not commenting on the 'purification' episode linked to the incident.
