The recent announcement of a joint venture between Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and France’s Safran Electronics & Defence (SED) to locally produce the Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (HAMMER) precision-guided munitions marks a significant milestone in India’s path toward defence self-reliance. This development should inspire confidence in India’s ability to shape its strategic future independently, reinforcing the importance of indigenous capabilities.
In an era where the nature of war is changing faster than ever, characterised by contested airspace, high-tempo operations, urban warfare, hybrid threats, drone saturation, and political sensitivity, precision has replaced mass as the main factor for battlefield success. Nations that lead in precision-strike systems achieve outcomes much greater than their force size, while also reducing collateral damage, escalation risks, and diplomatic fallout. For India, located in a volatile neighbourhood with two nuclear-armed opponents, the importance of building a strong PGM ecosystem cannot be overstated.
The Changing Nature of Warfare: Why Precision Matters More Than Ever
Modern conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Gaza, and the Caucasus have shown that wars are increasingly decided by the side with superior precision weapons, not just larger troop numbers. The old focus on overwhelming firepower is shifting toward surgical strikes, real-time targeting, and standoff engagement. PGMs shorten the OODA loop (Observe–Orient–Decide–Act), allowing militaries to identify targets, decide responses, and strike accurately—all within minutes.
For India, this transformation is more than just technological; it is a strategic move. Several factors make PGMs essential.
Geopolitical Sensitivity and Collateral Constraints. India’s borders pass through densely populated areas—Punjab, Jammu, Kashmir Valley, Rajasthan, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh. Any miscalculation risks civilian casualties, potentially escalating a limited operation into a diplomatic crisis. PGMs help uphold moral, legal, and strategic legitimacy.
Nuclear Overhang and Escalation Control. The subcontinent’s nuclear environment requires precise, calibrated responses. Blunt-force strikes could cause rapid escalation. Precision ensures proportionality while achieving decisive effects.
Multi-Front and High-Altitude Warfare. Against China, India must operate in high-altitude, thin-air conditions where traditional artillery and rockets lose accuracy. Precision-guided systems overcome these physical challenges.
A Shift Toward Limited Wars and Coercive Signalling. India’s doctrine today emphasizes quick, punitive, and limited operations that remain below the escalation threshold. PGMs facilitate this strategic finesse.
Cost Efficiency and Platform Flexibility. PGMs decrease the need for large, diverse ammunition stockpiles. A modular weapon can be adapted for multiple platforms, Tejas, Su-30 MKI, Rafale, Jaguar, UAVs, and UCAVs, streamlining logistics.
In this context, the BEL–Safran JV becomes more than a manufacturing initiative; it is a strategic enabler for India’s evolving military doctrine.
Impact of the HAMMER Joint Venture: A Step Toward Precision Dominance
HAMMER is a combat-proven, modular, multi-environment precision weapon. Its integration into India’s arsenal, especially after its reported use during Operation Sindoor, has confirmed its operational relevance. The joint venture will localise production, transfer key technologies, and enable India to manufacture guidance systems, warheads, subcomponents, propulsion modules, and electronics domestically. With indigenisation levels expected to reach nearly 60 percent, this collaboration strengthens India’s defence manufacturing base while boosting self-sufficiency.
Critically, the JV is structured not just for assembly but for ongoing localization, including lifecycle support. This transforms India from “buyer and operator” to “manufacturer and innovator,” a shift essential for developing genuine strategic autonomy.
However, HAMMER is only one node in a much larger precision ecosystem that India must develop.
The Precision Strike Ecosystem India Must Build
To dominate future battlefields, India needs to prioritize a range of precision weapons, each serving a tactical or strategic purpose.
- Glide bombs (Garuda, Gaurav, Gautham) for cost-effective standoff strikes
- Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) for runway denial and destruction of hardened facilities.
- Loitering munitions (ALFA-S, Nagastra) for search-and-destroy operations in mountain terrains
- Anti-armour precision missiles (HELINA, Dhruvastra, MPATGM) for armoured engagements
- Guided artillery rounds and smart fuses designed for mountain warfare
- Precision-guided Pinaka rockets for tactical strikes with a range of 150–250 km
- Anti-radiation missiles (Rudram series) for suppressing enemy air defenses
- Air-launched cruise missiles (LACMs) for deep strikes
- Micro-PGMs for UAV and UCAV operations
A multi-tiered PGM inventory ensures India can calibrate force application across a range of threat levels from tactical skirmishes to strategic operations without relying excessively on imports.
A PGM Industrial Roadmap for India
A coherent industrial roadmap for India’s Precision-Guided Munitions ecosystem begins with significant investment in seeker technology, which forms the core of all PGMs, whether infrared, laser, millimetre-wave, or synthetic-aperture radar-based, so that the country no longer depends on foreign suppliers for critical mission components.
Equally important is developing a domestic MEMS and micro-electronics supply chain, ensuring that India’s precision weapons are protected from vulnerabilities caused by sanctions, export controls, or external supply disruptions. To achieve this, India must unite DRDO, private industry, academia, and startups in a coordinated effort, fostering a collective sense of responsibility for long-term success.
Along with capability development, India should adopt export-ready standards and certification mechanisms, leveraging its expanding defence partnerships to access markets across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Lastly, the entire development process must involve veterans and operational users, whose battlefield experience is vital for refining design parameters, enhancing practicality, and creating PGMs that fulfil real combat needs.
This roadmap will not only speed up technological maturity but also act as a catalyst for a domestic defense ecosystem capable of supporting mass production and rapid innovation.
Strategic Consequences of Indigenous PGM Leadership
If India succeeds in developing a fully indigenous precision-strike system, the long-term strategic effects will be profound. It will empower India to shape its security environment proactively, fostering a sense of national purpose and strategic resilience among policymakers and military leaders.
A mature PGM ecosystem would significantly increase defence exports, particularly to Southeast Asian and African partners seeking affordable, reliable precision weapons, while also promoting jointness among the Army, Navy, and Air Force through standardised targeting doctrines.
Beyond the military, technological advances would benefit critical civilian sectors, such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, robotics, and MEMS manufacturing, thereby strengthening India’s overall technological foundation. India is on the verge of becoming a significant precision-strike power, but this strategic opportunity will not last forever and requires urgent, coordinated national action.
Conclusion: Precision Weapons Will Shape India’s Military Future
The BEL–Safran HAMMER joint venture is more than a commercial agreement; it signals India’s entry into the era of precision warfare, where the ability to strike first, accurately, and deeply provides a strategic advantage. As the battlefield evolves toward autonomous systems, multi-domain operations, cyber influence, and contested airspaces, PGMs will become the core of credible deterrence.
To ensure its future, India must invest heavily in indigenous precision technologies, expand its manufacturing ecosystem, and develop a strong, export-ready industrial base. This is not merely a technological need; it is a core element of national security.
The country that masters precision weapons controls the future battlefield. India must ensure it becomes not just a participant but a leader in this new era of warfare.