Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to further boost its combat capabilities by procuring HAMMER missiles from France to make Rafael fighter jet more lethal. Rafael jets will be equipped with the HAMMER missiles to take out targets in high-altitude areas in places such as Eastern Ladakh.
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Key-Points
HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a medium-range air-to-ground weapon. It has the capability to take out any types of targets at the range of around 60-70 kms.
It belongs to the Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM) family of missiles i.e. it is an Air-to-Ground Modular Weapon. The weapon is modular because it can integrate different types of guidance units and different types of bombs.
It has been developed by Safran Electronics & Defense for the French Air Force and Navy.
The HAMMERs would give India the capability to take out any bunkers or hardened shelters in any type of terrain including the mountainous locations such as Eastern Ladakh.