Emmanuel Macron has set about strengthening the French Army by ordering thousands of new drones amid warnings the country’s armed forces must embark on a “major catch-up effort”.
Sébastien Lecornu, the chief of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, has ordered 2,000 new “Kamikaze” type drones after warning the country’s military has suffered from poor decisions made a decade ago.
France will receive 1,900 of those drones as part of a programme to remedy “bad decisions” made between 10 and 15 years ago.
But the new drones aren’t only for France, as some of the incoming supply has also been earmarked for Ukraine.
The country also plans to send 100 to the frontlines of the war with Russia as Mr Macron advocates for increased Western intervention in the conflict.
Mr Lecornu announced the country’s plans to buy the four-figure supply of “remotely operated munitions” while visiting a drone manufacturing facility this week.
While speaking at a Delair factory in Labège, on the outskirts of Toulouse, he said the new munitions would complement existing French artillery.
He said: “I have taken the decision to order 2,000 remotely operated munitions, as much for the needs of the French army as for Ukraine.”
He added the Kamikaze drones are “absolutely fundamental to the conduct of operations” and would “complement the Caesar gun in terms of artillery”.
Kamikaze drones are flying devices equipped with explosives that can hover over and dive-bomb military targets.
Otherwise known as “loitering munitions”, they explode on impact and, due to their single-use nature, can be bought more cheaply than other military hardware.
Once the order of drones arrives, they will help develop a remotely operated unit capable of operating within a five-kilometre (three-mile) radius.
The purchase will serve as a vital step towards remedying poor decisions made by previous governments regarding drone usage.
He said Macron’s administration would carry out a “major catch-up effort for our armed forces”.
