Armored vehicles, drones, cannons… the Eurosatory defense exhibition is preparing for “combat”

“We are preparing to experience a fight of the type that the Ukrainians are very courageously leading.” The statement by the Commander of Land Forces and Operations and Land Commander for Europe, General Philippe de Montenon, sums up well the current climate which reigns in Europe in the face of the various wars. As the Eurosatory exhibition opens this Monday, June 15, the armored escort pair of dronesthe cannons in action or the deafening explosions and the dust should resonate even in the stands. France, like part of Europe, is indeed preparing for a war on its soilau-delà de l’Ukraine.

On the eve of the kick-off of this global land defense meeting which takes place until Friday in Villepinte, north-east of Paris, the dynamic demonstrations reserved for the press under a blazing sun showed what a high-intensity conflict could be. In an interview with AFP, the commissioner of the biennial show Charles Beaudouin, former senior official of the French Army, discusses the “potential”relayed by numerous observers and high-ranking French officers, with “Windows of opportunity” for Vladimir Putin to launch “an offensive” elsewhere in Europe, as the Ukrainian front stabilize.

The battle of the drones

Compared to the previous edition in 2024, “the probability of a shock in the East against Russia is increasingly strong” et “Our priority is to be ready for this shock, starting this evening”according to General de Montenon. This fight is “Extremely consumer of ammunition and also of human lives. It is droneized, roboticized, digitized”he adds. In Villepinte, drones are part of all the demonstrations. Tanks, faced in Ukraine with the threat of cheap drones which have deeply questioned their employment on the battlefield, appear here wearing anti-drone protective cages.

Anti-drone systems “are more present” at Rheinmetall, German king of tanks, admits Mathieu Dumontet of Rheinmetall Canada, interviewed by AFP after a demonstration. For him, the tank is not “outdated passport” if it is accompanied by autonomous systems and protected against drones. In France, the Army which only had 4,000 drones fin 2025 East «en train d’en aquérir 14 000»underlined Olivier Coquet, head of its technical section. Number “sufficient” to train the soldiers, estimates Philippe de Montenon, while each brigade now has a cell which trains the drone pilots.

Ukrainian expertise scrutinized

Ukraine’s expertise will be highly sought after at the show, which hosts 80 Ukrainian companies compared to ten for the previous edition in 2024. They will present their drones, robotic systems, but also deep strike missiles, proven in the war against Russia. “The Ukrainians are so far ahead that we can only copy them”according to Charles Beaudouin. He recalls that these are “Ukrainian and non-American specialists” who were invited to the Gulf countries, targets of Iranian drones since the start of the war in the Middle East at the end of February. THE partnerships with the Ukrainians are however relatively rare at this stage, especially in France.

On Friday, Airbus teamed up with a Ukrainian drone pioneer, SkyFall, on the sidelines of another defense show in Berlin: the European giant will bring its expertise in command and control operations, while SkyFall will provide its drone technologies proven on the battlefield. It remains to be seen whether Eurosatory will mark an acceleration of this type of cooperation.

THE Israeli private companies are authorized this year to exhibit the weapons «defensives» while in 2024 France had initially decreed a ban “total” of Israeli participation, due to the war in Gaza. With their very efficient “Iron Dome” anti-missile defense system which inspires even the United States, the Israelis will therefore be able to promote capabilities “which we have never needed so much”according to the show commissioner. He warned against “stands ambiguous” also displaying offensive, banned weapons, suggesting that such participants would be banned from the show.