France’s artillery rocket competition aims for sovereign solution as contest enters decisive phase
Thundart guided munition as it would appear in flight is the entry from the Team MBDA/Safran entry for the French Army artillery rocket requirement. (Photo: MBDA)
France’s requirement for a replacement MLRS is intended to provide the country with a sovereign capability to bolster the country’s strategic autonomy, with a final platform expected to be in service by 2030.
Under its Long-Range Ground Strike (FLP-T) programme, France is seeking a fully domestic solution to replace the French Army’s European-built version of Lockheed Martin’s M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), rather than upgrade its remaining launchers or, as most other users have done, purchase an off-the-shelf replacement.
The French Army took delivery of an estimated 55 M270s, along with substantial stocks of 227mm unguided rockets. Most of these M270s were delivered by 1995 and subsequently deployed by two regiments, which has since been reduced to one.
Two consortia have been bidding for this requirement, with test firings of both being successfully completed earlier
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