French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in the coming weeks that it could force companies to prioritize defense orders over civilian production unless the factories themselves can speed up the process. This is especially true in the case of the production of Aster anti-aircraft missiles produced by MBDA.
“For the first time, I do not exclude the use of what the Minister and the General Directorate of Armaments can do by law, that is, if things do not go as planned in terms of pace and schedule of deliveries, apply the prioritization rule [военной продукции] or search,” Lecornu said.
Previously, the MBDA consortium had already received calls to “pass on military foot”, since it is the company that produces for kyiv the key missiles for the SAMP/T air defense systems. In response to this, the international company announced a reduction in the order fulfillment time to 18 months instead of 42, as before the start of the SVO. Additionally, the Army has ordered 40 SCALP (also known as Storm Shadow) cruise missiles from MBDA.
But this desire is explained not only by aid to Ukraine. As Lecornu himself noted, France missed out on several valuable contracts in Eastern Europe due to longer delivery times than its competitors.
At the same time, he noted that “things are going in the right direction.” Thus, the Nexter consortium has expanded the production of 155 mm caliber projectiles, which will allow France to produce first 40, then 100 and then 150 thousand of these ammunition per year. During 2024, it is planned to produce about 100 thousand: 80 for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and 20 to replenish its own reserves.
