Indonesia considering acquisition of AASM-Hammer for Rafale

France's Safran Group has offered the AASM-Hammer smart bomb to Indonesia for integration in the Dassault Rafale, KAI T-50I, and potentially the KAI KF-21 jet. (Safran)

The Indonesian government is in talks with France's Safran Group for the potential acquisition and domestic assembly of Armement Air‐Sol Modulaire (AASM) Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (Hammer) smart guided bombs.

The Indonesian Ministry of Defense's (MoD's) Directorate General of Defense Potential said that it had discussed Safran Group's offer of the air-to-surface weapon for integration with the Rafale on 19 January.

The Indonesian Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara: TNI-AU) is scheduled to receive the first batch of six Dassault Rafale multirole combat aircraft by 2026.

“In connection with the programme to procure six Rafale fighters for Indonesia, the French Safran Group sees the potential use of Hammer as one of the weapons options that Rafale can carry,” the directorate said.

According to Janes Weapons: Air Launched, the AASM-Hammer is a modular air‐to‐ground precision weapon kit developed by Safran Electronics and Defense. The kit adds a guidance/seeker assembly to existing unguided bombs. The kit also adds pop‐out airfoils to increase the bomb's gliding range. A rocket booster extends its stand‐off capability.

It is unclear which variant of the smart bomb unit (SBU) has been offered to Jakarta. However, the directorate said that the operational requirements of the SBU should be adapted to the needs of the TNI-AU.

The directorate said it recommends a procurement contract conducted directly between the Indonesian MoD and Safran Group. Such a contract “will be more efficient, with the implementation of the obligations of local content and offsets (KLO) in accordance with the laws and regulations”, the directorate added.

Safran told Janes