French wildfires threaten nuclear deterrence industry, Rafale assembly

PARIS — Wildfires raging west of the French city of Bordeaux are threatening a number of France’s key defense-industrial sites, including an ArianeGroup facility that produces propulsion components for the M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile, Dassault Aviation’s final assembly line for the Rafale fighter jet, and one of Roxel’s main manufacturing sites for solid rocket motors used in MBDA missiles.

Dassault Aviation said it was moving sensitive equipment from a site closest to the wildfires to one nearer Bordeaux, with most workers staying home in line with instructions issued by the authorities. ArianeGroup had evacuated its affected sites, while the French Atomic Energy Commission CEA closed its military nuclear research site near Bordeaux as the wildfires approached.

The Gironde department of southwest France has been battling one of the country’s largest wildfires on record, with over 100,000 acres burned — an area roughly four times the size of Paris. The fires in recent days approached the cluster of defense and aerospace sites west of Bordeaux that represents one of France’s most important concentrations of missile, propulsion, combat aircraft, and military electronics production.

France’s military deployed an Airbus A400M aircraft to help fight out-of-control wildfires burning west of the wine city of Bordeaux in late July 2026.

Dassault Aviation had to move “a certain number of sensitive equipment” from its site in Martignas and a logistics center in Cestas to its site in Mérignac and the local Air Base 106, working in close cooperation with France’s Directorate General for Armament and local authorities, the aircraft maker said in an emailed statement late Monday.

Satellite data on Tuesday morning showed wildfires remained active less than 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) west of Dassault’s Martignas site, which is the wing assembly plant for the Rafale jet, before final assembly of the aircraft in Mérignac.

NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System showed fires and hot spots west of Bordeaux were significantly reduced as of 9 o’clock in the morning local time, though authorities have warned that a new wave of hot weather with a peak on Wednesday, combined with near-record drought conditions, could cause fire activity to pick up again.

Firefighters use counterfires to remove vegetation ahead of a wildfire, creating a fuel-free buffer zone in Marcheprime, west of Bordeaux, France, on July 26, 2026. (Alain Jocard / AFP via Getty Images)

Employees at the Mérignac and Martignas plants are staying home, in line with instructions issued by authorities, unless they’ve been evacuated, Dassault Aviation said. Those still working are the teams necessary for the transfer of equipment and those in charge of protecting the site to help with fire-fighting efforts, the company said.

ArianeGroup is working in close cooperation with local and national authorities, and the company’s sites west of Bordeaux “have been evacuated, and all necessary measures have been taken to secure them,” the space-launch company said in an emailed reply to questions. The firm said it’s not commenting on security measures around its sites.

Satellite data as of Tuesday morning showed active wildfires around 12 kilometers west of ArianeGroup’s Candale site, where the propulsion units of the M51 missile stages are integrated and assembled, around 13 kilometers from the site of Saint-Médard-en-Jalles where the missile is fueled, and some 16 kilometers of the Le Haillan site that produces the company’s solid-propulsion systems.

“Whilst the unprecedented forest fires in Gironde are above all an environmental and humanitarian disaster, they also threaten sites that are of vital strategic importance to our nuclear deterrent,” said Etienne Marcuz, an associate fellow at the Foundation pour la Recherche Stratégique, in a post on the social media network X on Sunday.

Emergency services aided by local construction companies worked during the night of Friday to Saturday and throughout the day to clear vegetation and create firebreaks around a number of sensitive sites, Gironde department Prefect Sophie Brocas said in a press conference on Saturday.

Marc Vermeulen, the head of the Gironde department fire and emergency service, said that after protecting lives, the next priority is protecting at-risk strategic sites. The DGA has a missile testing site just west of Saint-Médard.

Thales said its site at Mérignac has been closed since Monday as a precautionary measure, in accordance with guidelines from the authorities. The company said it’s doing everything possible to safeguard its strategic equipment at the site and ensure continuity of its commitments to customers.

The Thales site sits across from the Dassault Aviation campus in the Bordeaux suburb, and supplies equipment including avionics systems for the Rafale as well as military helicopters.

MBDA’s Roxel unit has one of its main production locations in Saint-Médard, where it produces propellant, solid rocket motors and carries out integration work for rockets and drones, on a site shared with ArianeGroup. Roxel produces the motors for a number of MBDA missiles, including the Aster range of air-defense interceptors.

“Roxel is managing the situation and the necessary measures have been taken to ensure the safety of our staff and our operations, with the support of the relevant authorities and emergency services,” MBDA said in an emailed statement, declining further comment.

The CEA said its site in Le Barp southwest of Bordeaux has been closed due to the wildfire situation. After wildfires in 2022, the center put in place new procedures, provided additional fire-fighting equipment to the in-house fire brigade, and created firebreaks around the center, the government organization said in an emailed reply to questions.

The CEA Cesta site houses the organization’s megajoule laser, a research instrument used to create conditions of extreme heat and pressure similar to those produced by nuclear weapons, and part of France’s efforts to maintain the credibility of its nuclear deterrent without live nuclear testing.

As of Tuesday morning, satellite data showed active wildfires around 7 kilometers from the site, after the fire front got to around 4 kilometers from the CEA site over the weekend.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——法国波尔多市西部肆虐的野火威胁着法国的多个重要国防工业基地，其中包括为M51潜射弹道导弹生产推进部件的阿丽亚娜集团工厂、达索航空公司的阵风战斗机总装线，以及罗克塞尔公司为MBDA导弹生产固体火箭发动机的主要制造基地之一。

达索航空公司表示，已将敏感设备从距离山火最近的地点转移到波尔多附近的一处地点，大多数员工都按照当局的指示留在家中。阿丽亚娜集团已疏散了受影响的场所，而法国原子能委员会（CEA）也随着山火逼近关闭了位于波尔多附近的军事核研究基地。

法国西南部吉伦特省正遭受该国历史上规模最大的野火之一的侵袭，过火面积超过10万英亩，约为巴黎面积的四倍。近日，火势逼近波尔多以西的国防和航空航天基地群，该基地群是法国最重要的导弹、推进系统、战斗机和军用电子产品生产中心之一。

2026年7月下旬，法国军方部署了一架空客A400M飞机，帮助扑灭在葡萄酒之城波尔多西部肆虐的失控野火。

达索航空公司周一晚间在一份电子邮件声明中表示，该公司不得不将“一定数量的敏感设备”从其位于马蒂尼亚斯的工厂和塞斯塔斯的物流中心转移到其位于梅里尼亚克的工厂和当地的106空军基地，并与法国军备总局和地方当局密切合作。

周二上午的卫星数据显示，野火仍在距离达索公司位于马蒂尼亚斯的工厂（阵风战斗机的机翼组装厂，最终组装在梅里尼亚克）以西不到 9 公里（5.6 英里）的地方燃烧。

美国国家航空航天局的火灾资源管理系统数据显示，截至当地时间上午 9 点，波尔多西部的火灾和热点已显著减少，但当局警告称，周三将迎来新一轮高温天气，加上接近历史最高水平的干旱，可能会导致火灾活动再次加剧。

2026年7月26日，在法国波尔多以西的马尔什普里姆，消防员利用反烧法清除野火蔓延前的植被，形成无燃料缓冲区。（Alain Jocard / AFP via Getty Images）

达索航空表示，根据当局的指示，梅里尼亚克和马蒂尼亚斯工厂的员工均居家办公，除非接到疏散通知。该公司称，仍在工作的人员包括负责设备转移的团队以及负责保护现场并协助灭火工作的团队。

阿丽亚娜集团在回复邮件中表示，公司正与地方和国家当局密切合作，位于波尔多以西的发射场“已完成人员疏散，并已采取一切必要措施确保安全”。该公司还表示，不对其发射场周围的安全措施发表评论。

截至周二上午的卫星数据显示，活跃的野火位于 ArianeGroup 的 Candale 工厂以西约 12 公里处，该工厂负责集成和组装 M51 导弹级的推进装置；距离 Saint-Médard-en-Jalles 工厂约 13 公里处，该工厂负责为导弹加注燃料；距离生产该公司固体推进系统的 Le Haillan 工厂约 16 公里处。

“吉伦特省史无前例的森林火灾首先是一场环境和人道主义灾难，同时也威胁到对我们的核威慑具有重要战略意义的地点，”战略研究基金会副研究员艾蒂安·马尔库兹周日在社交媒体网络 X 上发帖称。

吉伦特省省长索菲·布罗卡斯在周六的新闻发布会上表示，紧急救援部门在当地建筑公司的协助下，从周五晚上到周六白天，清理了植被，并在多个敏感地点周围创建了防火隔离带。

吉伦特省消防和应急部门负责人马克·弗米伦表示，在保护生命之后，下一个优先事项是保护高风险战略要地。法国国防安全局（DGA）在圣梅达尔以西设有一个导弹试验场。

泰雷兹公司表示，根据当局的指导方针，其位于梅里尼亚克的工厂已于周一起关闭，作为一项预防措施。该公司表示，正在尽一切努力保护工厂内的战略设备，并确保继续履行对客户的承诺。

泰雷兹公司位于波尔多郊区，与达索航空园区隔街相望，为阵风战斗机和军用直升机提供包括航空电子系统在内的设备。

MBDA旗下的Roxel公司在圣梅达尔设有主要生产基地之一，主要生产推进剂、固体火箭发动机，并与Ariane集团共用该基地，开展火箭和无人机的集成工作。Roxel为MBDA的多款导弹生产发动机，其中包括Aster系列防空拦截导弹。

MBDA在一份电子邮件声明中表示：“Roxel正在处理此事，并在相关部门和应急服务的支持下，采取了必要措施，以确保员工和运营的安全。”声明拒绝进一步置评。

法国原子能委员会（CEA）表示，由于山火肆虐，其位于波尔多西南部的勒巴尔普（Le Barp）的基地已关闭。该政府机构在回复邮件中表示，在2022年山火过后，该中心制定了新的应对措施，为内部消防队配备了额外的消防设备，并在中心周围设置了防火隔离带。

CEA Cesta 基地内设有该组织的兆焦耳激​​光器，这是一种用于制造类似于核武器产生的极端高温高压条件的研究仪器，也是法国在不进行实弹核试验的情况下维持其核威慑力量可信度的努力的一部分。

截至周二上午，卫星数据显示，在周末火势蔓延至距离 CEA 站点约 4 公里处之后，该站点附近约 7 公里处仍有活跃的野火。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。