France Accelerates Defense: Artillery, Ballistic Missiles, and the Attrition Factor

The landscape of French defense is undergoing a radical transformation. With the pressure of a possible large-scale conflict by 2030, Paris faces a race against time to modernize its arsenal, balancing operational urgency with the need to maintain its industrial sovereignty.

The sovereignty dilemma in rocket artillery

The absolute priority of the French Army is currently the replacement of the nine surviving Lance-Roquettes Unitaire (LRU), which will reach the end of operational life in 2027. Just this week, tests began for an internally developed system, and preliminary results seem promising. France must now decide whether to focus on the domestic product, developed by the Safran/MBDA or Thales/ArianeGroup teams, or purchase ready-made foreign systems like the American HIMARS, the Israeli PULS, or the South Korean Chunmoo. The ultimate goal remains the acquisition of 26 systems and 300 munitions to equip an entire battalion by 2030. As emphasized by Patrick Pailloux, head of the DGA, it will be a necessary compromise between sovereignty, costs, and delivery times.

The return of ballistic missiles and hypersonic technology

In parallel, France has allocated one billion euros this year to start the development of a land-based ballistic missile system with a range of 2,500 kilometers. The missile will be equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle, a technical choice that the DGA believes offers the best balance between costs and military performance. Although the official deployment target is 2035, military leaders are seeking to accelerate the timeline to bring the date as close as possible to 2030. To achieve this, it is proposed to initially deliver simplified versions, without advanced anti-jamming systems, which will be integrated only at a later stage.

Rafale F5: the future of air combat

The year 2026 also marks the beginning of work on the F5 standard of the Rafale fighter jet, supported by a budget of 3.4 billion euros allocated to combat aviation. The changes will include structural innovations such as the new T-REX engine from Safran, capable of a 9-ton thrust compared to the current model's 7 tons. The entire suite of sensors and radar will also be updated. Regarding armament, the DGA aims to accelerate the development of the Stratus RS air-to-ground missile by MBDA and the creation of the Comet, a very long-range air-to-air missile that should surpass the performance of the current Meteor by 2030.

Preparing for attrition warfare and the Renault drone

Pailloux's strategic vision is clear: in an attrition war, the winner is the one who still has ammunition when the opponent has run out. For this reason, France has planned orders for over 6 billion euros in various types of munitions, from SCALP cruise missiles to Mistral air defense systems. In this context, the Chorus drone project is included, a "one-way" aircraft with a range of 3,000 kilometers and a payload of 500 kilograms. Production will be entrusted to the car manufacturer Renault, with the aim of keeping costs around 120,000 euros per unit, a figure that allows for mass production essential to face a war of attrition.