European Defense Tech: How France and Italy Are Working Together to Stay Ahead of the Game

The French Ministry of Defense has given priority orders to manufacturers involved in the production of Aster anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic missiles. Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that military orders for the Aster range must be given precedence over civilian orders during an interview with Italian Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto in Calvi.

One of the manufacturers affected by this prioritization is Aubert et Duval, which produces special steels for various sectors. MBDA, a joint venture between France and Italy, produces the Aster 15 and 30 missiles, which have been used in combat situations such as against drones in the Red Sea. Ukraine has requested more of these missiles for anti-aircraft defense, and France and Italy have provided them.

To meet the increasing demand for Aster missiles, Lecornu urged manufacturers to speed up production. In response, MBDA plans to reduce production time for these missiles significantly by 2026 while also increasing production capacity by a significant amount. However, challenges remain in the production process, including inefficient industrial organization and bureaucratic hurdles between France and Italy.

To address these challenges, Lecornu and Crosetto called on MBDA to accelerate production and set up a second missile assembly line in Italy to increase capacity even further. Additionally, they signed a letter of intent to strengthen cooperation between their land arms industries with the aim of developing cutting-edge defense technologies like the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS). This project is a joint effort between France and Germany with Italy having observer status.

The MGCS is just one example of how European countries are working together to develop advanced defense technologies. Lecornu emphasized the importance of collaboration and technology sharing for the future of defense, while Crosetto highlighted the need to create stronger European defense clusters that can compete on a global scale.

Overall, it’s clear that Europe is becoming more integrated when it comes to defense technology development. With increased collaboration between countries like France and Italy, we can expect even more cutting-edge solutions in years to come that will help us stay ahead of potential threats from around the world.