Renault teams up with Thales to boost France’s drone production

France’s Renault Group will produce military drones with defense technology firm Thales, the companies said on Tuesday, marking a further push by the automaker into defense manufacturing.

Renault will build Thales’ Toutatis remotely operated loitering munitions at one of its factories, with production of 1,000 units a month starting as early as next year, and targeting mainly overseas markets.

The agreement, announced at the Eurosatory defense fair outside Paris, is the second partnership in defense between the two groups, which are also working together on a military vehicle.

The companies said the deal would significantly ramp up France’s industrial capacity in a strategic area. Loitering munitions — drones that hover over a target area before striking — have played a central role in the war in Ukraine.

“We started with the military need,” said Thales CEO Patrice Caine. “We closely examined what’s happening in a number of theaters of operation, particularly in the East, but not exclusively.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a shift in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump have driven European countries to boost defense spending, prompting arms makers to tap spare capacity in the auto sector to increase output.

Renault said in February it had been asked by France’s armed forces ministry to help strengthen the country’s defense sector.

Renault’s industrial expertise will help scale up drone production more quickly and at lower cost, CEO Francois Provost said.

Thales currently produces around 100 units of the Toutatis drone per year. The partnership with Renault will increase output by switching from 3D printing to larger-scale plastic injection molding, with the drone’s design being adapted to allow for the higher production volume. A 40% reduction in the number of parts and fasteners will also help lower costs, said Provost.

Asked about the cost of the new munition compared to others on the market such as the Damocles from KNDS and Delair, or the Akeron RCX 50 from MBDA, Caine said that it was “super competitive.”

There are currently no firm plans for France to purchase significant volumes of the drones, added the companies, with higher needs in other markets.

The short-range drone project adds to Renault’s Chorus program with drone maker Turgis Gaillard to develop a long-range model. A first demonstrator is expected by the end of this year, followed by monthly output of 600 drones at Renault’s Le Mans plant.

Renault has said making cars remains its core business, though it is also working with Belgian group John Cockerill on a ground drone. John Cockerill Defense bought French military vehicle maker Arquus from Swedish truck manufacturer Volvo in 2024.

法国雷诺集团和国防技术公司泰雷兹周二宣布，将合作生产军用无人机，这标志着这家汽车制造商进一步进军国防制造业。

雷诺将在其一家工厂生产泰雷兹公司的Toutatis遥控巡飞弹，最早将于明年开始每月生产1000枚，主要目标市场为海外市场。

该协议在巴黎郊外的欧洲防务展上宣布，是这两个集团在防务领域的第二次合作，他们目前还在共同研发一款军用车辆。

这些公司表示，这项交易将显著提升法国在这一战略领域的工业产能。巡飞弹——即无人机在目标区域上空盘旋后发动攻击——在乌克兰战争中发挥了核心作用。

泰雷兹首席执行官帕特里斯·凯恩表示：“我们首先考虑的是军事需求。我们仔细研究了多个战区，特别是东部战区，但并非仅限于东部战区的情况。”

俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以及美国总统唐纳德·特朗普领导下的美国外交政策转变，促使欧洲各国增加国防开支，进而促使武器制造商利用汽车行业的闲置产能来提高产量。

雷诺汽车在2月份表示，法国武装部队部已要求其帮助加强该国的国防部门。

雷诺首席执行官弗朗索瓦·普罗沃斯特表示，雷诺的工业专长将有助于更快地扩大无人机生产规模，并降低成本。

泰雷兹目前每年生产约100架Toutatis无人机。与雷诺的合作将通过将生产工艺从3D打印转向更大规模的注塑成型来提高产量，无人机的设计也将进行调整以适应更高的产量。普罗沃斯特表示，零部件和紧固件数量减少40%也将有助于降低成本。

当被问及这种新型弹药与市场上其他弹药（例如 KNDS 和 Delair 的 Damocles 或 MBDA 的 Akeron RCX 50）相比的成本时，凯恩表示，它“极具竞争力”。

这些公司补充说，目前法国还没有购买大量无人机的明确计划，因为其他市场的需求更高。

雷诺的短程无人机项目是其与无人机制造商图尔吉斯·盖拉德（Turgis Gaillard）合作开发的远程无人机项目“Chorus”的补充。首架演示机预计将于今年年底前完成，随后雷诺位于勒芒的工厂将实现每月600架无人机的产量。

雷诺表示，制造汽车仍然是其核心业务，但该公司也正与比利时约翰·科克里尔集团合作开发地面无人机。约翰·科克里尔防务公司于2024年从瑞典卡车制造商沃尔沃手中收购了法国军用车辆制造商Arquus。