The French Chief of the Defense Staff, General Fabien Mandon, warned on the 26th of August that the country is not yet ready to confront relatively cheap and mass-produced threats such as drones, writes Politico.
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, financially sustainable defense against relatively cheap, mass-produced weapons, including the Iranian-made Shahed drones, has become one of the main challenges for Western militaries.
Mandon, at an event organized by France’s main business lobby, Medef, warned that there are enemies who have developed a large number of cheap solutions that can drain French defense resources. He said that this is not happening yet, there is no catastrophe, and the country is peaceful, but action must be taken.
NATO’s arsenal consists of sophisticated, high-tech missiles, each worth millions, that the army, navy and air force use to shoot down remotely piloted aircraft worth tens of thousands of dollars.
The main goal now is to reduce the so-called cost per kill — that is, to reduce the price of neutralizing a threat.
Recently, the French Air Force has used expensive missiles to shoot down cheap Iranian drones that it has been targeting in the Persian Gulf.
French arms manufacturers such as MBDA and start-ups including Alta Ares and Harmattan AI are working on cheaper, mass-produced weapons to counter the threat. Mandon said defensive weapons are not yet being produced in the quantities needed to stop intense waves of attacks. He added that he is working to accelerate the use of drones in the French armed forces. The general also noted that defense industry companies must be able to adapt to a rapidly changing world where competitors are adapting very quickly.
Read also: BNN IN FOCUS | “We are not prepared” – former NAF Commander reveals major shortcomings in Latvia’s crisis management