In a report unveiled on Wednesday, April 1st, deputies Francois Cormier-Bouligeon (Together for the Republic) and Aurélien Saintoul (France Unbowed) scrutinized France’s military dependencies on foreign countries, particularly the United States. They highlighted the vulnerabilities of the French armed forces equipment by equipment.
The report identified several dependencies on the United States for strategic equipment. These include single rocket launchers with American chassis, steam catapults on the aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle, electromagnetic catapults planned for its future successor, the aircraft carrier La France Libre, and Reaper drones. The co-reporters explained, “The United States dominate these dependencies due to their technological advancement, which allows them to offer operational solutions to the French armies.”
This assessment also applies to Awacs, surveillance aircraft with extremely complex radars, used by NATO. However, at the beginning of the year, France chose to turn away from Awacs in favor of GlobalEye, designed by the Swedish manufacturer Saab. The army’s single rocket launchers will be obsolete by 2027. While several French companies are seeking to provide alternatives, options from Korea (K239 Chunmoo), the United States (Himars), and Israel-Germany (Puls) are being considered to address this urgent issue.
