French Ministry of Defense asks Renault to build military drones

French car manufacturer Renault will also produce drones for military use in the future. As the company announced, it will do so through a cooperation with the French defense company Turgis Gaillard, founded in 2011, which has already designed a drone for the military. To this end, both have founded a joint company named “Chorus.” Renault says the French Ministry of Defense approached them with a request to help build a French drone industry. The French industry publication “Usine Nouvelle” first reported on the plan. According to the report, the Renault plants in Cléon and Le Mans will manufacture the aircraft. However, Renault itself has not yet commented on this.

Helpful experience from automotive manufacturing

Turgis Gaillard already has a handful of large drone models in its program, some with a payload of up to three tons. Apparently, however, its 400 employees lack the resources for the planned production volume of 600 units per month, which the French business newspaper Les Échos mentions. The paper writes that it is about developing 'remotely controlled long-range ammunition' that is also suitable for observation and reconnaissance missions. Neither Renault nor the Ministry of Defense have provided details on the type, scope, or contract value of the planned production.

Renault states that it was selected due to its production and industrial development expertise. It has experience in the fields of conception, industrialization, and series production while adhering to quality, cost, and deadline requirements. According to dpa, the contract with an initial volume of 35 million euros over a period of 10 years could bring in one billion euros.

(fpi)