French automotive industry scales up combat drone production

The French automotive industry is increasingly partnering with defense companies to enable the mass production of combat drones. This shift aims to address perceived gaps in domestic drone capabilities amid international conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Renault is collaborating with Thales to industrialize the production of the Touatis kamikaze drone, targeting 1,000 units per month starting in 2027. The company is also working with Turgis & Gaillard on long-range drone development. These partnerships utilize automotive assembly logic—such as reducing screw counts and using clips for faster assembly—to achieve high-volume output that traditional aerospace manufacturing is not designed for.

Other significant collaborations include a partnership between automotive supplier Forvia and MBDA, which aims to produce 1,000 interceptor drones per month. Collectively, these industrial efforts could potentially allow France to produce up to 60,000 drones annually, though experts note this remains far from true mass production.