The French army is testing laser-guided rocket under Rafale and Tigre to improve the anti-drone fight, especially in the context of the war in Iran, and is testing drone interceptors for drones. Deployed in the Middle East to support its partners like Qatar, Kuwait, or the United Arab Emirates in the fight against drones, France has reportedly shot down over 80 Iranian drones of Shahed type since the beginning of the conflict, according to Le JDD.
The French army has deployed fourteen Rafale aircraft, reinforcing the ten aircraft stationed permanently in the region. The Army has strengthened this system by sending four Tigre helicopters from Alat (Land Army Light Aviation) to the Gulf.
The question now is how to adapt these aircraft to the anti-drone fight specifications, to equip them with more efficient and above all, less expensive vectors. Currently, the Mica missiles used by Rafale cost between 600,000 and 700,000 euros each, while the targeted Shahed drones cost only about 30,000 euros.
The Ministry of the Armies announced on Wednesday in a statement that the DGA [Directorate General of Armaments] has mobilized since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East to accelerate the evaluation of solutions responding as quickly as possible and in a pragmatic way to the evolution of threats. The Expert Reference Centers (CeR), created at the end of 2025 to work on short-cycle technologies, are now being tested in the current conflicts.
This includes the Expert Referral Center for drone fighting (CeRLAD), supported by…
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Read also: War in Iran: What is the Tigre helicopter deployed by the French army to shoot down drones? Air Force: Why is the Reaper drone equipped with American Hellfire missiles?
