France Picks MBDA-Safran Combo to Supply Multiple Rocket Launcher
The sovereign Thundart bid could deliver first systems in 2029, while France seeks to avoid a long-range fires gap as LRU launchers age out.
- On Monday, Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin announced France entered exclusive negotiations with defense firms Safran and MBDA to procure the French-made Thundart rocket artillery system at the Eurosatory defense show.
- Officials rejected competing offers from Lockheed Martin and Hanwha Aerospace to prioritize sovereign solutions and replace France's nearly obsolete Lance Roquette Unitaire launchers, set for retirement as early as 2027.
- Manufacturers report the Thundart system features a 150 km range extending beyond 1,000 km with the Land Cruise Missile integration and is compatible with the Thales Atlas artillery fire-control system.
- Gen. Philippe de Montenon, commander of French land forces, emphasized rocket artillery is 'essential' for France's war-ready division in 2027 and army corps in 2030, stating, 'We need them, of course, as soon as possible.'
- While Safran and MBDA expect to deliver first systems in 2029, experts warn the timeline risks creating a 'problematic capability gap' in long-range fires for the French Army before new assets are operational.
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16 Articles
Presented at the Eurosatory show, the future rocket launcher of the French army was officially entrusted to the MBDA-Safran duo. Named Thundart, this new generation system must allow France to strike...
The Minister of the Armed Forces, Catherine Vautrin, announced on Monday, June 15, the opening of negotiations with the consortium Safran and MBDA for the development of its future rocket launcher. This system is destined to replace its unit rocket launchers (LRUs), at the end of life.
The MBDA Safran group was chosen to equip the French army with the new system that will replace unit rocket launchers. American Indian or South Korean solutions had also been examined.
Minister Catherine Vautrin announced that the choice of the Army to succeed the unitary rocket launcher (LRU) would focus on the Thundart proposed by MBDA and Safran, rather than Ariane and Thales' FLP-T 150
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