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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'Grew up in a family where women were bosses': Rahul tells students
New Delhi (PTI): "I grew up in a family where the women were the bosses," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi told students during an interaction in Kerala recently, while asserting that women are generally more intelligent than men.
On International Women's Day, Gandhi posted a video of his interaction with the students on his YouTube channel on Sunday and said that a few days ago, he met some young women students in Kerala during a lunch interaction and had a very interesting conversation with them.
"I was deeply impressed by each student's dreams, curiosity, and confidence. Such conversations remind us that when women recognise their potential and move forward with an open mind, they can bring about extraordinary change," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
"Every woman is unique. Their sensitivity, understanding, and emotional intelligence provide balance and direction to society. Women also wield power in their own unique ways - with patience, long-term vision, and empathy," Gandhi asserted in his post in Hindi, accompanying the video.
"Therefore, they should have every right to move forward according to their identity, personality, and aspirations, rather than being bound by society's restrictive norms," he said.
"Heartiest greetings to all women on International Women's Day. May your strength, courage, and dreams continue to propel society toward a positive future," Gandhi said.
Posting the video on X, Gandhi said interacting with some young students in Kerala was incredibly inspiring.
"Their confidence and belief in their dreams demonstrate that women are the ultimate force for change," he said.
In the video, Gandhi is seen having a free-wheeling chat with the women students.
"I grew up in a family where the women were the bosses. So the boss of my family was my grandmother and I have always in my family, like on this table, been outnumbered by women," Gandhi tells the students.
"Women are generally more intelligent than men for the most part. Men are in a hurry and men get blinded by silly things.Women think longer term, they don't apply direct power they apply indirect power, it is more effective," he says.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge shared on X a quote by BR Ambedkar on gender equality - "You are not born to suffer. You are born to rise"
"Women are not merely participants in development. They are its driving force. Through their wisdom, resilience, compassion, and determination, women strengthen communities, and build stronger nations," Kharge said on X.
"On International Women's Day 2026, we celebrate the courage, leadership, and countless contributions of women everywhere. True progress will come when equality is not an aspiration, but a lived reality for every woman," the Congress chief said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also greeted women on International Women's Day.
"On this Women's Day, may every woman realise her strength, her rights and her power to shape the future. You matter. Your voice matters. Your dreams matter," she said on X.
केरल में कुछ युवा छात्राओं के साथ हुई बातचीत बेहद प्रेरणादायक रही।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 8, 2026
उनका आत्मविश्वास और सपनों पर विश्वास बताता है - महिलाएँ बदलाव की सबसे बड़ी शक्ति हैं।
सभी को #InternationalWomensDay की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ। pic.twitter.com/OV2fvth1rB
