The government wants to inject

French Forces Conduct Major Military Exercise “Orion 26”

By John Irish

France is planning to spend an additional 36 billion euros on defense by 2030 as part of updating its Military Programming Law (LPM) for 2024-2030. This update includes strengthening the nuclear arsenal, missile stocks, and drones.

This increase marks a faster pace compared to the current annual increase of 3 billion euros in military spending, reflecting growing security pressures due to wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

It also considers the increasing uncertainty regarding the United States’ commitments to NATO under President Donald Trump, who threatened to leave the Alliance earlier this month.

The updated law for the period 2024-2030 would raise defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by the end of the decade, up from around 2% currently.

The budget would reach 76.3 billion euros in 2030, nearly double its 2017 level.

France is responding to the changing international landscape by moving faster and stronger, according to Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin.

She noted that France is recognizing a shift towards sustained and diverse conflicts worldwide.

NUCLEAR DETERRENCE STRENGTHENED

One key element of the LPM update is the reinforcement of France’s nuclear deterrent, a move advocated by President Emmanuel Macron in early March. The plan involves increasing the number of French nuclear warheads.

The updated law aims to increase the number of nuclear warheads while keeping nuclear expenses around 13% of the overall defense budget, including modernizing maritime and aerial components.

France currently spends about 5.6 billion euros annually maintaining its stockpile of 290 weapons, making it the fourth-largest nuclear arsenal globally.

AMMUNITION AND MISSILES

The law also includes a significant increase in investments in conventional military capabilities in response to gaps in NATO’s American allies seen in the Ukrainian conflict and exacerbated by conflicts in the Middle East.

An additional 8.5 billion euros will be allocated to replenish stocks of artillery shells, air defense missiles, and long-range missiles.

Studies will begin in 2026 to develop a conventional ballistic missile capable of reaching 2,500 km by 2035, as outlined in the law.

Air defense and anti-missile capabilities will be a priority, with an extra 1.6 billion euros allocated to accelerate the delivery of SAMP/T NG systems and enhance drone combat capacities.

The budget for drone and robot warfare is set to increase by 2 billion euros from 2026 to 2030, a 39% rise compared to the initial LPM, reaching a total of 8.4 billion euros for 2024-2030.

Each unit will soon have its drone system, with plans to replace American-made Reaper drones with a sovereign MALE (medium-altitude, long-endurance) drone capacity by 2035.

France also aims to reduce Europe’s reliance on the US for military equipment by developing a sovereign early-warning system capable of detecting missile launches with radars and an infrared detection satellite expected to be operational by 2035.

(French version Benoit Van Overstraeten, edited by Jean-Stephane Brosse)