Bharat Electronics (BEL) announced a joint venture with France-based Safran Electronics and Defense (SED) for Project HAMMER. The joint venture company will operate a Centre of Excellence. It will act as a technology partner for the manufacturing, supply, maintenance, and repair of guidance kits used in the HAMMER weapon system. The primary end users of the system will be the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. Other Indian defence users may also be added later based on mutual agreement.