France to Present Domestic Alternative to HIMARS at Le Bourget

At this year’s Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, French company Turgis Gaillard will present Foudre, its new multiple launch rocket system, designed to compete with the U.S.-made HIMARS.

The French media outlet Challenges reported the news.

The international exhibition, running from June 16 to 22, will mark the debut of the Foudre prototype.

Developers describe it as a “100% French-made” system that falls into the same category as the widely used American HIMARS.

Challenges published the first photos of the missile launcher, which had been developed in complete secrecy over a two-year period.

Like HIMARS, the Foudre is mounted on a three-axle truck chassis and features an armored cab and a launcher for a single six-missile pod.

The system’s launcher and container design suggest compatibility with existing U.S. munitions, casting doubt on the claim of full domestic production but offering interoperability with France’s current stock of LRU munitions.

If integrated with American munitions, the system could fire GMLRS rockets with a range of up to 80 kilometers or strike targets 300–500 kilometers away with ATACMS or PrSM ballistic missiles. However, such integration would require cooperation with Lockheed Martin, which has not been confirmed.

According to Challenges, Foudre was presented to officials from the French Army Command and the General Directorate for Armament (DGA) several months ago.

The system was also mentioned in an April parliamentary report on artillery, authored by MPs Jean-Louis Thiériot and Mathieu Bloch, which considered it a potential replacement for the French Army’s aging LRU systems — a local variant of the U.S. M270 tracked rocket launcher — set to be retired by the end of 2027.

The last LRU systems were delivered to the French military in the 1990s. After transferring four units to Ukraine and utilizing others for spare parts, France now has only six to seven operational systems remaining. Three of these are deployed at the Cincu base in Romania as part of NATO’s mission to reinforce its eastern flank.

The introduction of Foudre is viewed as a strategic move for both the French defense industry and its armed forces. Amid rising demand for such systems, France had even considered foreign purchases, including the Indian Pinaka system.

At the same time, France’s DGA, working with industrial partners such as Safran, MBDA, Thales, and Ariane Group, is developing a domestic alternative to U.S. rocket systems, including its own precision munitions.

Given the involvement of key missile companies, it is about creating its own ammunition for it. It is stated that the new system should hit a target at a range of 150 kilometers.