France, following Ukraine's experience, is re-equipping old anti-aircraft systems to fight the Shahed
In four months, the French army has developed an upgrade to the 53T2 anti-aircraft system with a 20mm F2 automatic cannon, which has been in service since the 1970s. The upgraded system is called Proteus, and its main task is to destroy drones.
Here's What We Know
The Proteus project was the result of an analysis of real-life combat operations and the Ukrainian experience in modernising anti-aircraft artillery to combat drones. The development was based on a pragmatic approach: a thermal imaging sight borrowed from the upgraded Mistral man-portable air defence systems was installed on the base anti-aircraft gun.
The first version of the upgrade, the Proteus Standard 1, will soon be put into service with the 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment, which is the only such unit in the French armed forces. The regiment belongs to the permanent readiness force and has experience in peacekeeping and coalition operations, including in Afghanistan.
???? J'ai été développé en 4 mois par la @Stat_20e_ra et l'Agence ministérielle pour l'IA de défense
- Armée de Terre (@armeedeterre) 23 January 2025
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➡️ Le canon de 20 mm Proteus ????#Innovation???? #MatosTerre pic.twitter.com/ktkEdmzx7i
At the same time, work is underway on the second version of the system, Proteus Standard 2. This modification will integrate artificial intelligence algorithms to recognise targets and predict their trajectories. The completion of Standard 2 is scheduled for this summer.
It is noted that such a breakthrough in the development of military technology would not have been possible back in 2021, when such projects took years to complete. However, modern challenges force us to move to quick and pragmatic solutions.
Source: Armée de Terre
