Eurosatory 2026: MBDA and Thales look to civilian industry for loitering munition scale-up
First unveiled at Paris Air Show 2023, the Toutatis is a loitering munition that can be mounted onto vehicles, ships and aircraft. (Photo: author)
Thales and MBDA have taken steps to ensure the mass production of their respective loitering munition offerings at Eurosatoy, teaming with civilian manufacturers. These moves come amid France’s push towards sovereign drone production and continued market expansion.
Speaking to Shephard at the MBDA chalet, Hugo Coqueret, business development manager for battlefield at MBDA, explained that the company has an arrangement in place with an undisclosed civilian manufacturer to mass-produce the Deluge one-way effector (OWE), contingent on larger contracts from the Directorate General of Armament (DGA). The arrangement could extend to the Akeron RCH 170 loitering munition, which is the focus of MBDA’s competitive tender for France’s medium-range loitering munition programme.
MBDA’s announcement mirrors that of Thales, which, earlier in the week, revealed that it and French car manufacturer Renault Group (RG) had partnered to jointly develop and industrialise
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