Defense stocks: Two major partnerships were announced on Monday in the Indian defense and technology sector. On one hand, Navratna PSU BEL signed a big agreement with Safran of France for local production of advanced weapon systems. On the other hand, private sector Paras Defense took steps towards developing commercial-grade MRI magnet technology for the first time in the country. Let us know the details of these two deals.
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Safran Electronics and Defense (SED) of France have entered into an important partnership. The two companies have signed a Joint Venture Cooperation Agreement (JVCA) for the production of HAMMER Smart Precision Air-to-Ground Weapon.
This JVCA formalises the process of forming a 50:50 joint venture company (JVC) in India in furtherance of the MoU signed with Aero India on 11 February 2025. In future, JVC will completely localize the manufacturing, supply and maintenance of HAMMER weapon system in India.
HAMMER is a combat-proven, high-precision and modular weapon system. It is considered suitable for fighter planes like Rafale and Tejas. This partnership will strengthen BEL’s Indian defense production capability and transfer SED’s smart weapon technology to India.
Shares of BEL closed 3.23% lower at ₹402.90 on BSE on Monday. The stock has given a return of 4.77% in the last 6 months. At the same time, it has increased by 37.81% in one year.
Private sector Paras Defense and Space Technologies Limited has signed an MoU with Inter-University Accelerator Center (IUAC), New Delhi. Together they will develop commercial-grade MRI magnet systems in India. IUAC works on research and development related to particle accelerator. It is an autonomous institute under the UGC and Ministry of Education.
According to Paras Defence, this partnership is an important step towards manufacturing superconducting MRI magnet technology in the country. This is in line with efforts to increase indigenous technology under the Self-reliant India initiative.
Paras Defense shares closed at ₹705, down 2.27% on Monday. The stock is down 13.20% in the last 6 months. However, it has given a return of 38.66% in 1 year. This year i.e. in 2025, the shares of Paras Defense have increased by 40.19%.
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