New Delhi, May 07: India has avenged the Pahalgam terror attack by destroying nine terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and PoK. In this retaliation, the Scalp and Hammer missiles fired from the French fighter aircraft Rafale are also made in France. Three types of missiles can be installed in Rafale, which include Meteor, Scalp and Hammer missiles. Being equipped with these three missiles, Rafale has given sleepless nights to China and Pakistan.
Highly Agile and Maneuverable Munition Extended Range (Hammer) is a rocket-powered air-to-ground missile kit. The Hammer missile can target the enemy from air to ground at a distance of 60 to 70 kilometers. The Hammer missile fitted in Rafale is quite dangerous, which can be launched from a range of 70 kilometers even without GPS. While making a deal for 36 Rafale aircraft from France, India had decided to make do with Israeli Spice-2000 bombs instead of buying expensive Hammer systems from France due to lack of budget, but after the supply of five Rafales in the first consignment, France was ordered to buy Hammer systems.
The Hammer contract was signed between the governments of India and France in September 2020. It was usually to be supplied in a year, but France agreed to equip the Indian Rafale with the all-weather missile Hammer to meet India’s need immediately. After the supply of three more Rafale aircraft in the second consignment, a large number of Hammer systems were received by the Indian Air Force. The Hammer missile fitted in Rafale is quite dangerous, which can be launched from a range of 70 km even without GPS. Hammer is a high-speed air-to-ground missile. It weighs 340 kg. It is 10.2 feet long. Its front part has a navigation and guidance system.
The 300 km range Scalp missile fitted in Rafale before Hammer makes it the most lethal. Rafale has been upgraded with this missile to attack mountainous areas at an altitude of 4,000 meters. The air-to-surface guided missile Scalp with a range of 300 kilometers can carry a 450 kg warhead. It is used to target command, control, communication, air bases, ports, power stations, ammunition storage depots, surface ships, submarines and other strategic high-value targets.
The specialty of this missile is that once launched from the fighter, it comes between 100 to 130 feet from the ground to avoid enemy radar and jamming systems. After this, before reaching close to the target, the missile again goes to a maximum height of 6,000 meters and then falls directly on the target.
