France's DGA notifies MBDA and Safran to proceed with THUNDART long-range strike system for French Army
The French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) formally notified MBDA and Safran Electronics & Defense to supply the THUNDART long-range land strike capability under the Frappe Longue Portée / Terrestre innovation partnership launched in 2022. THUNDART will provide the French Army with sovereign precision-strike reach in high-intensity conflict; the system is designed for targets beyond artillery and cruise-missile range. Contract value and delivery timeline were not disclosed.
Why it matters: Paris is filling the deep-strike gap left by the absence of ATACMS-class systems—THUNDART gives France an indigenous counterweight to U.S. and German procurement dependencies.
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