MBDA and Bharat Dynamics (BDL) have entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the production of missiles in India.

The agreement involves the ASRAAM and Mistral missiles, and covers final assembly, integration and testing, says MBDA.

“This MoU marks the latest step on our true commitment to Make in India and our partnership with BDL, as we build the foundations for further new and exciting joint opportunities,” says MBDA executive George Kyriakides.

The ASRAAM (advanced short range air-to-air missile) will be used by New Delhi’s fleet of Sepecat/Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) Jaguar ground attack jets. It will also see service with the Tejas Mk-1A, a combat capable of version of the Hawk Mk132 called Hawk-India, and the Sukhoi Su-30MKI.

ASRAAM emerged as the winner of a competitive evaluation for the air force’s ‘New Generation Close Combat Missile’ (NGCCM) programme.

The Mistral will see service aboard Indian helicopters such as the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Dhruv.

In January, an LCH successfully destroyed a moving airborne target with a Mistral.

Source: FlightGlobal.com