SMPP Joins Hands with KNDS to Manufacture KATANA Precision-Guided Artillery in India

On 20 November 2025, at the Milipol Paris exhibition in Paris, India’s defence and aerospace company SMPP Limited (via its subsidiary SMPP Ammunition) formally entered into a teaming agreement with European land-systems leader KNDS (based in Amsterdam) to jointly offer the 155 mm precision-guided artillery ammunition family branded KATANA to the Indian armed forces.

What the agreement covers

Under the agreement, SMPP Ammunition and KNDS will work together to market, manufacture and supply the KATANA family of ammunition to the Indian Army — addressing its requirement for advanced 155 mm precision-guided rounds.

The KATANA portfolio includes three variants:

• Ballistic Range (BR) — standard base precision guided capability.

• Extended Range (ER) — offering greater reach and standoff.

• High Precision (HP) — equipped with a semi-active laser seeker (future variant) for metric-level precision, along with a hybrid guidance system combining GNSS plus IMU to maintain accuracy across different terrains and operational conditions.

The agreement emphasises “full-calibre” capability and addresses threats including armoured targets with decametric accuracy and fire-and-forget capability, improving effectiveness in urban and complex terrain.

Strategic context and significance

For SMPP, this marks a major step in its ammunition business. The company, founded in 1985 and headquartered in New Delhi, has built a profile in personnel protection, platform armouring, medium & large calibre ammunition and unmanned aerial systems. The teaming with KNDS allows SMPP to enter next-generation precision ammunition in collaboration with a European system integrator.

For the Indian Army, the deal comes at a time when there is an acute requirement for modern 155 mm artillery systems and precision-guided ammunition, aligned with regional threat dynamics. The “Make in India” localisation push ensures improved supply-chain security, technology transfer and long-term indigenous capability development.

KNDS (a merger of Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France’s Nexter Systems) brings strong artillery-ammunition credentials and gains access to India’s growing defence market.

What comes next

The partners will move into phases of design adaptation, localisation of manufacturing, certification, trials, and qualification to Indian Army standards. Production scale-up depends on procurement approval and budget decisions.

The collaboration also opens opportunities for future exports of India-manufactured precision artillery rounds, subject to regulatory clearances. The High-Precision laser seeker variant will be a future capability upgrade.

Broader implications

The agreement strengthens India’s shift toward precision-guided munitions and deeper industrial collaboration with European defence majors. For the artillery domain, precision-guided 155 mm rounds like KATANA® offer major advantages:

• higher hit probability,

• reduced collateral damage,

• superior effectiveness in contested environments.

The teaming agreement between SMPP Ammunition and KNDS for the KATANA 155 mm precision-guided artillery ammunition is a strategic milestone in India’s artillery modernisation and defence-industrial expansion. If fully realised, it may significantly enhance India’s domestic capability to produce and deploy advanced precision artillery ammunition, strengthening both national security and industrial depth.