October drone digest: France and Lithuania advance loitering munition procurements as global spending surges
Lithuania’s first batch of Switchblade 600 loitering munitions were delivered in October. (Photo: AeroVironment)
Recent procurement developments in France and Lithuania highlight the growing demand for loitering munitions, with global annual spending forecast to increase nearly 50-fold between 2020 and 2029.
October has seen several updates to loitering munition procurement programmes, as the capability continues to play a key role in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Earlier in the month, the French Ministry of Armed Forces announced it had activated an optional tranche of an acquisition deal it had signed in February, triggering the acquisition of several hundred additional MX-10 Damocles rotary-wing aircraft from KNDS France and Delair. The February deal saw France acquire 460 units of the aircraft to begin meeting its short-range loitering munition requirement.
Based on the size of this deal, Defence Insight estimates that the October 2026 batch
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