Bharat Electronics Limited and Safran Electronics & Defense, France have signed a MoU to create a joint venture for manufacturing, customising, sales and maintenance of HAMMER, a precision guided air-to-ground weapon, in India. HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a combat-proven weapon system known for its high accuracy and modular design making it adaptable for multiple platforms including the Rafale and LCA Tejas. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by K V Suresh Kumar, Director (Marketing) of BEL, and Alexandre Ziegler, Executive Vice President of Safran Electronics & Defense, in the presence of Manoj Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of BEL, Franck Saudo, CEO of Safran Electronics & Defense at Aero India on Tuesday. "The proposed joint venture between BEL and Safran Electronics & Defense will be a major step toward strengthening India's capabilities in defense manufacturing and achieving self-reliance in advanced weapon systems.