Paris: In a move to boost its remotely operated weapons system, the French Army has started the process of quickly procuring American-made loitering munitions as part of a longer-term effort, officials said.
The service is looking to add AeroVironment’s Switchblade to its inventory within the next six months, Col. Arnaud Goujon, the Army’s chief of plans, told reporters at the Eurosatory defence expo, held near here.
In an email to a media house, the French Armed Forces Ministry confirmed the country is in the process of launching a Foreign Military Sales request “for the acquisition of Switchblade remote-operated ammunition.”
“This launch aims to set up a first urgent capacity for the benefit of the French forces,” the ministry wrote.
At Eurosatory, Goujon noted the Army discussed how best to use such weapons. “Six months from now, we’re going to have a really good discussion” on the path forward, he said.
The service is looking for a capability “that is different” than a mortar or an artillery shell, he said. “If it is the same price of a mortar round that goes about 3 kilometers away and flies for 15 minutes, then it’s interesting.”
But if it’s 10 times more expensive than a mortar and has the same range, Goujon said he is less interested.
However, if the weapon can fly 30 or 50 kilometers (19 or 31 miles) away and has an endurance of two to four hours, “suddenly, I can task it on a recovering mission … then it’s a different animal,” Goujon said.
Neither Goujon nor the ministry commented on how many units the Army plans to acquire, and they would not provide a value of the foreign military sale. French news outlets reported this month that the ministry’s procurement office was looking to acquire 82 remotely operated weapon systems.
