• Air Warfare

  Software upgrade to French Reaper UAVs allows for operations over home territory

  9th August 2023

  France has completed trials of a software upgrade to a General Atomics Reaper Block 5 UAV which allows the country’s fleet of aircraft to operate from French bases and over French territory.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Thales obtains type certification for Spy’Ranger 330

  22nd April 2022

  Type certification enables the French Army to deploy the SMDR1 mini-UAS2 reconnaissance system to overseas theatres of operations without requiring specific flight approvals.

• Land Warfare

  France bets on armoured vehicles to ensure deterrence

  21st March 2022

  The French Army is betting on the acquisition and modernisation of armoured vehicles to ensure deterrence in multiple scenarios and avoid being in high-intensity conflicts. Currently, it is carrying out the Scorpion programme, which is intended to deliver around 4,500 new and upgraded platforms by 2034.

• Land Warfare

  New tracked articulated vehicles appear on the horizon for France

  9th November 2021

  French mountain troops and the Foreign Legion are conducting tests of a heavily modified variant of the HT270.

• Digital Battlespace

  Aerostats retain their relevance

  1st November 2021

  Militaries remain interested in low-altitude tethered balloons for base protection, or airships as high-altitude platforms for ISR and communications relay missions.

• Air Warfare

  France seeks support solutions for heavily utilised CN235 fleet

  7th October 2021

  French Air Force issues MRO RfP for CN235 transports as high utilisation and harsh operating environments impact expected airframe service life.

• Air Warfare

  Spy’Ranger family growth reflects appetite for unmanned ISR

  2nd July 2021

  A new optronic ball will fly by the end of the year, and Thales is considering other sensors for Spy’Ranger.

• Air Warfare

  French Reapers prepare to add hitting power in Africa

  28th June 2021

  Change is afoot for the French fleet of MQ-9 Reapers.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  France sets its sights on hundreds more small UAVs

  18th May 2021

  An RfP from the French military calls for 500 nanodrones and microdrones, as part of a broader vision to strengthen its UAV fleet. Responses are due by 25 May.

• Training

  ARES bulks up with Mirages

  14th May 2021

  French red air operator ARES is expanding its fleet with 18 Mirage 2000s but which air force is supplying them?

• Land Warfare

  C-UAV demands put BASSALT to the test

  4th May 2021

  A counter-UAV system originally developed for the civil aviation sector is being used in Mali to protect French forces.

• Defence Notes

  Mali coup brings the blues for Barkhane

  6th October 2020

  The recent coup in Mali raises further questions over the future of the French-led mission against jihadis in the Sahel

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Estonians and Dutch collaborate to buy THeMIS

  29th September 2020

  Estonia and the Netherlands have signed a joint procurement agreement to buy seven THeMIS UGVs from Milrem Robotics. Milrem announced on 29 September that it …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  THeMIS UGV finishes stint in Mali

  5th May 2020

  Milrem Robotics confirmed on 5 May that its THeMIS UGV has completed its first deployment to Mali as part of Operation Barkhane with the Estonian …

• Special Operations

  Dutch lift lid on Takuba plans

  7th May 2020

  The Netherlands’ Special Operations Command (NLD SOCOM) has disclosed to Shephard its planned contribution to Task Force Takuba - a European Combined Joint Special Operations …

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Air: mission management systems

  FINDSAT - BFT System

  Using geo-satellite positioning, Nexter’s BFT system (FINDSAT) is capable of identifying and locating friendly personnel who are not equipped with networked information or radio systems. ...

• Military UGVs

  THeMIS

  Milrem's Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System (THeMIS) is a modular, hybrid UGV.  The vehicle's modular design and open architecture allow it to be reconfigured to ...

• Military UGVs

  Probot

  The 4x4 Professional Robot (Probot) is suitable for various applications, both indoor and outdoor, and is designed to carry a payload of up to 700kg. ...

• APCs/IFVs - 4x4, APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  VAB

  The Véhicule de l'avant blindé (VAB - Forward Area Armoured Vehicle) is a multipurpose armoured vehicle originally developed in the early 1970s to provide a wheeled ...