France Advances Indigenous Rocket Artillery Capability to Supplant HIMARS Dependency
In a strategic pivot aimed at enhancing defense sovereignty, France is accelerating the development of a domestically-produced rocket artillery system intended to serve as a European counterpart to the U.S. M142 HIMARS. The program, led by the French Directorate General for Armament (DGA), targets a live-fire demonstration by mid-2026, setting the foundation for an operational capability within the next decade.
The initiative is part of a broader effort to replace the Lance-Roquettes Unitaire (LRU)—France’s aging variant of the U.S. M270 MLRS—which is scheduled to be retired by 2027. With only nine LRUs remaining in service, French defense planners are under growing pressure to prevent a capability gap in long-range precision fires.
Two industrial consortiums are currently under contract: one led by Safran and MBDA, the other by Thales and ArianeGroup. Both teams are pursuing the development of a tactical deep-strike solution with an effective range of 150 kilometers. Safran and MBDA’s system, known as Thundart, is being presented as a high-readiness platform leveraging mature technologies and indigenous production lines—features designed to offer full strategic autonomy.
The FLP-T (Frappe Longue Portée Terrestre) program has been allocated €600 million under France’s 2024–2030 defense budget, with the goal of fielding 13 launchers by 2030 and achieving battalion-level strength (26 systems) by 2035. However, the option to procure an off-the-shelf foreign system remains on the table should domestic timelines slip beyond acceptable limits—a decision expected in 2026.
DGA officials have emphasized that both industrial partners will conduct live-fire demonstrations before the government selects a final solution. Importantly, the program includes provisions for procurement without renewed competition, contingent on the demonstration systems meeting operational benchmarks.
General Pierre Schill, French Army Chief of Staff, recently reinforced the urgency of restoring long-range fires, noting that most NATO allies already possess such capabilities. Currently, France stands alone in pursuing a fully indigenous rocket artillery solution unencumbered by U.S. export controls—an increasingly attractive proposition for European partners seeking strategic autonomy.
Despite the ambition, the market outlook for export is limited. Analyst Léo Péria-Peigné of IFRI cautioned that a French system entering production post-2030 will face stiff competition in a field already dominated by HIMARS, Israel’s PULS, and South Korea’s Chunmoo. Several European states have already committed to these systems, narrowing potential buyers.
Nevertheless, the DGA has embedded growth pathways into FLP-T planning. Both industrial teams have been tasked with studying the integration of future hypersonic or extended-range missiles capable of reaching 500–1,000 kilometers, aligning with France’s long-term strike doctrine and potentially interfacing with the broader European Long-range Strike Approach (ELSA). ArianeGroup and MBDA have also submitted concepts for ultra-long-range systems exceeding 1,000 kilometers, although these capabilities are not expected before 2035.
Thundart is being designed with scalability in mind, leveraging existing MBDA infrastructure in Centre-Val de Loire for final assembly, and building on production efficiencies derived from Safran’s AASM Hammer program. The modularity and shared subsystems are seen as key enablers of rapid development and future upgradability.
For now, the program remains on schedule, but internal tensions between those favoring expedient foreign solutions and proponents of a sovereign, European-made alternative could influence France’s final trajectory. The outcome of the FLP-T trials and the defense ministry’s 2026 procurement decision will be decisive in determining whether France can maintain its long-range precision strike capability without relying on U.S. or third-party systems.
