India and France today announced a deepening of military ties that includes making the ‘hammer missiles’ under a joint venture in India while the country’s first helicopter making unit in the private sector was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emanuel Macron.Modi and Macron were in Mumbai holding a bilateral meeting after which the two sides also announced a renewal of the ten-year agreement on defence cooperation; a reciprocal deployment of officers at Indian Army and French Land Forces establishments. The hammer (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) was used during Operation Sindoor against Pakistan in May last year. It is already mated to the existing fleet of Rafale jets of the Indian Air Force. The JV between public sector unit Bharat Electronics Limited and Safran of France will produce it.The missiles would be needed on the forthcoming order of 114 Rafale jets which the Defence Acquisition Council okayed on February 12. These can also be fitted onto the indigenous Tejas jets.Meanwhile, India’s first helicopter ‘final assembly line’ in the private sector, was also inaugurated at Vemagal, Karnataka. A joint venture between European giant Airbus and India’s Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) will build the Airbus H-125 helicopters.It is only copter that can fly to the Mount Everest that is 29,000 feet in altitude.The delivery of the first ‘Made in India’ civilian, H125, copter is expected in early 2027. The helicopter will be available for exports in the South Asian region as well. The Airbus-Tata tie-up for helicopters is happening just two years after the two companies joined hands for making the C295 military aircraft.Speaking at an event at Vemagal in Bengaluru Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described the helicopter assembly line saying “our collaboration with France is limitless”. The investment in the plant is almost Rs 1,000 crore.Rajnath also met his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin. The meeting reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral defence cooperation, with focus on expanding industrial collaboration, especially in view of French companies pitching in for a massive Make in India.Defence has traditionally formed an important pillar of the relationship between the two countries. The strong and enduring bilateral ties were vividly reflected in 2024-2025 through a series of high-profile exchanges. Modi was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade in July 2023, before the French President graced the Republic Day Parade 2024 as the chief guest. The recent India-EU Security & Defence Partnership marked a significant step in deepening collective engagement with European nations. Military-to-Military cooperation is on an increase.
