Amid simmering border tension with China, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to further boost the capabilities of its Rafael combat fighters, which are set to arrive from France soon, by equipping them with the deadly HAMMER missiles.
HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a medium-range air-to-ground weapon designed and manufactured for the French Air Force and Navy initially.
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, according to the defence experts.
HAMMER – the new generation medium-range modular air-to-ground weapon had been designed and manufactured by Sagem (Safran group) for the French Air Force and Navy.
the AASM weapon system has a length of 3m and a weight of 330kg and has a range of over 60km at high altitudes and 15km at low altitudes. It has fire and forget capability and an extended stand-off capacity.
The interoperable missile has the ability to engage multiple targets simultaneously. It can also strike fixed or moving targets with high precision. The missile is maintenance-free and has low lifecycle costs.