France is not confident in HIMARS, so either its own system or the Korean K239 Chunmoo

A new French parliamentary report highlights the need to urgently renew long-haul vehicles, while relying on production independence, despite high cost risks and limited efficiency.

Here's What We Know

The condition of French artillery, in particular its missile component, has been assessed as critical. Only nine M270 LRU systems remain in service and are subject to decommissioning.

The planned replenishment of 26 units - by 2035 - is too slow and insufficient, while there is still no clear decision on how to replace the LRUs. The document states that France must choose between a politically motivated "national solution" and a more pragmatic import with localisation.

So far, the only real French alternative is the Foudre system from Turgis Gaillard, which is only at the prototype stage. It does not have a missile munition - Indian missiles are likely to be used. The French companies MBDA and Safran are developing a 227-mm Thundart missile with a range of 150 km, while Ariane Group and Thales are working on a munition with a range of up to 300 km. But all these projects are only promising, and their implementation depends on the pace of funding and production capacity.

The Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) has set a target of 50 to 100 missiles per year from 2030. But compared to the estimated 500 long-range launches per year in a war, as is the case in Ukraine, this pace will not be enough.

In addition, parliamentarians acknowledged that due to the limited scale of production, their own system would be too expensive and unlikely to attract other buyers, as European NATO countries have already made their choice: HIMARS, PULS or Korean Chunmoo.

The report categorically rejects the purchase of HIMARS due to Lockheed Martin's workload until 2030 and the political unpredictability of the United States. PULS is also harshly commented on because of tensions with Israel.

At the same time, it is noted that localisation of production is a key condition. As a result, only two realistic options remain: the South Korean K239 Chunmoo with full localisation, or the Indian Pinaka, which is currently being updated to the Mk3 version with a range of up to 120 km.

Source: Defence Express