Paris: French defence export orders had their second-best year ever in 2024, rising to more than €18 billion (US $18.6 billion) on demand for Rafale fighter jets and submarines, Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu told troops in his traditional New Year’s address in Paris.
Lecornu called for 2025 to be a new record year, driven by exports of surface vessels, submarines, radars, artillery, helicopters and yet more Rafale jets. Export efforts will also focus on the latest version of the French-Italian SAMP/T air-defence system, which the minister said is fundamental to defending against future ballistic-missile threats, particularly from Iran and Russia.
France counts on exports to help pay for what it calls strategic autonomy, allowing the country to maintain capabilities such as building an entire fighter jet or nuclear-powered submarine, with an economy – a fraction that of the United States or China.
France was the second-largest arms shipper in the 2019-2023 period after the United States, accounting for 11% of global arms exports, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
“Exporting our weapons is vital to developing our defence industrial and technological base,” Lecornu said. “It is just as vital for our trade balance, and for creating jobs throughout France. But it is also a prerequisite for our sovereignty.”
Last year’s orders included nearly €10 billion for Dassault Aviation’s Rafale jet and Naval Group submarines, according to Lecornu. France’s overall defence export orders more than doubled from €8.2 billion in 2023, after a record €27 billion in 2022.
Separately, Dassault Aviation reported export orders for 30 Rafale fighters in 2024 from 18 a year earlier. Export deliveries rose to seven aircraft from two, on total deliveries of 21 Rafale jets in 2024 and 13 a year earlier.
Lecornu warned the government’s failure to pass a 2025 budget last year in a divided parliament threatens France’s ability to fund the military sufficiently. He called on lawmakers to assume their legislative responsibility, saying the armed forces should “at the very least” receive the budget set out in the 2024-2030 military spending law “to ensure France’s real military effectiveness.”
The annual defence budget increase of €3 billion over the planning period should be seen as a floor, “certainly not a ceiling,” the minister said. With security threats mounting, “we must not weaken.”
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