The partnership will see Indian defence manufacturer SMPP and European defence giant KNDS produce advanced loitering munitions and drone systems in India, supporting the country's push for defence self-reliance and precision-strike capabilities

Indian defence manufacturer SMPP has signed a teaming agreement with European defence major KNDS to manufacture advanced loitering munitions in India, marking another step in the country's efforts to strengthen indigenous defence production and reduce reliance on imports.

The agreement was signed at the Eurosatory defence exhibition in Paris on Wednesday and will see SMPP, through its subsidiary SMPP Ammunition, manufacture the systems domestically under the government's Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives.

The partnership will initially focus on meeting the Indian Army's growing requirement for loitering munitions, which have emerged as a critical battlefield capability in modern warfare due to their ability to conduct precision strikes against high-value targets.

The systems are equipped with a hybrid navigation architecture combining multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers and Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), enabling them to operate in complex and contested environments.

The latest partnership builds on an earlier agreement signed by SMPP and KNDS at the Milipol exhibition in Paris in November 2025 to manufacture the KATANA 155-mm precision-guided artillery munition in India. The KATANA system is designed for long-range, high-precision strikes and forms part of the armed forces' ongoing modernization efforts.