France has selected the THUNDART system from MBDA and Safran Electronics & Defense to provide the French Army with a new sovereign long-range land strike capability.

La Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) a officiellement notifié, le 10 septembre, le marché THUNDART à un groupement associant Safran Electronics &

MBDA and Safran Electronics & Defense will establish a joint venture in France to develop, produce, and maintain the THUNDART long-range missile system.

MBDA and Safran Electronics & Defense will establish a joint venture in France to develop, produce, and maintain the THUNDART long-range missile system. The companies announced the next stage of […]

MBDA-Safran consortium forms joint venture for 26 systems with 150km precision missiles using AASM Hammer guidance already proven by Armed Forces Air Force

Η γαλλική Διεύθυνση Εξοπλισμών DGA ανέθεσε στις MBDA και Safran Electronics & Defense την υλοποίηση του προγράμματος THUNDART, του νέου συστήματος πυραυλικού πυροβολικού που προορίζεται να αντικαταστήσει τους σημερινούς ΠΕΠ M270,  στόχο την παροχή της νέας δυνατότητας στον Γαλλικό Στρατό έως το 2030. Το THUNDART αναπτύσσεται στο πλαίσιο του προγράμματος FLP-T (Frappe Longue Portée Terrestre), […]

MBDA and Safran Electronics & Defense announce the notification by the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) of long-range land strike. … mehr... The post THUNDART: MBDA and Safran receive approval appeared first on European Security & Defence .

France selects the jointly developed system to replace its LRU launchers and restore sovereign 150-km ground-based precision strike capability.d

Le 15 juin, à l’occasion du salon de l’armement aéroterrestre EuroSatory, la ministre des Armées, Catherine Vautrin, fit savoir que la Direction générale de l’armement [DGA] avait retenu le Thundart, c’est-à-dire la solution développée par MBDA et Safran dans le cadre du partenariat d’innovation «Frappe Longue Portée / Terrestre» [FLP/T] qu’elle avait lancé en octobre... Cet article Le marché des futurs lance-roquettes multiples de l’armée de Terre a été notifié à MBDA et à Safran est apparu en premier sur Zone Militaire.

The French Defence Procurement Agency, the DGA, notified the two companies of the decision. THUNDART will provide precision strikes at long range in

Paris, 10 September 2026 ### Key points * MBDA and Safran Electronics and Defense announced on 10 September that the Direction générale de l'armement had notified them the Frappe Longue Portée Terrestre contract, the successor to the army's nine remaining LRU launchers, which cannot be kept in service beyond 2030 * The updated military programme law requires 26 systems delivered before 2030, with up to 26 more afterwards; the amount, and the split between firm and further systems, are not published * The two companies will form a 50/50 joint venture in the Paris region by January 2027 for development, production, support and export variants; the first phase closed with a demonstration firing in April that the companies describe as above expectations * The 150-kilometre rocket uses a Roxel motor and the guidance module of the AASM air-launched weapon on a Safran launcher; Catherine Vautrin announced the selection over the ArianeGroup–Thales bid at Eurosatory on 15 June Three months after Catherine Vautrin picked it at Eurosatory, the Thundart long-range rocket system passed from selection to contract on 10 September, with the DGA's notification to MBDA and Safran fixing 26 systems before 2030 and up to 26 more, and leaving the value unpublished. The programme replaces the Lance-Roquettes Unitaire, France's nine surviving HIMARS-derived launchers, which the army cannot sustain past 2030. Vautrin told the Senate in April that price and availability before that date would decide the competition against buying off the shelf in Asia, and on 15 June chose the Safran–MBDA offer over ArianeGroup and Thales's FLP-T. The notification converts the choice into a commitment: the updated programme law, promulgated on 18 August, writes 26 systems before 2030 into the requirement and up to 26 more beyond it. Neither the DGA nor the companies give a figure, and the split between firm and optional systems is not stated. Industrially the announcement fixes the structure. Safran Electronics and Defense supplies the launcher and MBDA the missile system; the 150-kilometre rocket uses a motor from Roxel, the Safran–MBDA propulsion joint venture, and the guidance module of the AASM Hammer, the air-launched weapon Safran already produces at rate for Rafale and for Ukraine. A joint venture owned equally by the two, in the Paris region, stands up by January 2027 for development, production, support and export versions. The April firing, the companies say, exceeded expectations and showed robustness in constrained environments. **Twenty-six systems before 2030 is a rate France's land-systems industry has not delivered for a new launcher, and the AASM guidance module is the reason the companies can promise it.** Hammer production was pushed past 1,200 a year for Ukraine, so the guidance line exists before the launcher does, and the joint venture's export mandate reads as the plan to amortise a 26-to-52 domestic run against a European market that has bought HIMARS, Chunmoo and PULS in the same period without a French entry. Signal No. 144 recorded the notification as a climb from selection to commitment; the unpublished value is the datum still missing, and the 2027 budget bill this autumn is where the price per system first becomes visible. Related · French sovereign LRU successor * France Picks the Safran–MBDA Thundart Over HIMARS for Sovereign Deep Strike * Thales and ArianeGroup Conduct First FLP-t 150 Firing at Île du Levant — Sovereign French LRU Successor Sources:MBDA · Safran · Opex360

Le 15 juin, à l’occasion du salon de l’armement aéroterrestre EuroSatory, la ministre des Armées, Catherine Vautrin, fit savoir que la Direction générale de l’armement [DGA] avait retenu le Thundart, c’est-à-dire la solution développée par MBDA et Safran dans le cadre du partenariat d’innovation «Frappe Longue Portée / Terrestre» [FLP/T] qu’elle avait lancé en octobre... Cet article Le marché des futurs lance-roquettes multiples de l’armée de Terre a été notifié à MBDA et à Safran est apparu en premier sur Zone Militaire.

U.S. blocks GMLRS integration for France’s Foudre and Thundart, forcing a shift toward sovereign long-range strike systems.

Principaux renseignements La France envisage le déploiement d’un prototype du système de missiles Thundart en Ukraine à des fins d’évaluation opérationnelle. Selon des informations publiées sur le compte français « Aid to Europe », cette initiative permettrait aux développeurs MBDA et Safran de recueillir des données cruciales issues du terrain, de résoudre les défauts techniques […]

Key takeaways Frankrijk overweegt de inzet van een prototype van het Thundart-raketsysteem in Oekraïne voor operationele evaluatie. Volgens berichten van het Franse Aid to Europe zou deze stap ontwikkelaars MBDA en Safran in staat stellen cruciale praktijkgegevens te verzamelen, technische tekortkomingen op te lossen en de status “in de strijd beproefd“ te verkrijgen, om zo […]

THUNDART : la France écarte le HIMARS américain et mise sur son lance-roquettes maison, capable de frapper à 150 km

France's THUNDART rocket artillery could undergo combat testing before service, potentially earning combat proven status and boosting export prospects.

Prototype Thundart missile systems will undergo testing in Ukraine.According to an anonymous source cited by the French Aid to Europe observer on X, the trials will take place in Ukraine.The […]