Furthering India’s defence capabilities in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, the Indian Air Force has placed orders for French-made HAMMER missiles that would further bolster the capabilities of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
The new installation will help the fighter aircraft take out ground targets and hardened bunkers at stand-off ranges of over 70 kilometres.
The development comes at a time when India is embroiled in a fierce military stand-off with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The capability enhancement of the LCA Tejas fighter jet has been done using the ‘emergency procurement power’ granted by the central government to defence forces.
“The HAMMER missiles are in the process of being integrated with the LCA Tejas and it will significantly enhance its capability to take out hardened targets from stand-off distances,” government sources told news agency ANI.
The IAF acquired the first consignment of the HAMMER missiles for the Rafale fighter jets, also from France, when the aircraft started getting delivered to India. The Rafale is the most advanced combat aircraft in the illustrious Indian Air Force fleet.
France had agreed to supply the missiles for the Rafales at a short notice last year due in view of the heightened Chinese aggression along the LAC.
HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a medium-range air-to-ground missile that was initially designed and manufactured for the French Air Force and Navy.
“The state-of-the-art weapon will give India the capability to take out any bunkers or hardened shelters in any type of terrain including mountainous locations such as Eastern Ladakh,” the sources added.
Indian defence forces have comprehensively utilised the emergency procurement powers to equip themselves with the necessary arsenal to battle any aggression by its adversaries, both along the LAC and the Line of Control shared with Pakistan.
The IAF has already operationalised two LCA Tejas squadrons under the initial and final operational clearances, while the 83 Mark 1As will likely be delivered in the next couple of years.
LCA Tejas is designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency in collaboration with the Aircraft Research and Design Centre of India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
The Indian Air Force is also eyeing the LCA Mark 2 and the AMCA that are being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
The LCA Tejas is far more superior to the JF-17 fighter jet, the combat aircraft jointly manufactured by Pakistan and China.
Now, with the addition of HAMMER, the Indian fighter jet will surpass its adversaries’ arsenal by a huge margin.
