MLRS Thundart: MBDA and Safran Present New French Rocket System

French defense companies MBDA and Safran have presented the Thundart multiple‑launch rocket system as a contender in a competition to equip the French army with a new long‑range rocket system, MBDA France reported on its website.

The system was developed under the national Long‑Range Land Strike (FLP‑T) program, launched by the French defense procurement agency (DGA) in 2023.

MBDA and Safran plan to begin testing the new system in 2026. Thundart will compete with the Foudre MLRS being developed by a Thales/ArianeGroup consortium.

Thundart is built around a rocket munition with a reported range of up to 150 km. Renderings show a launcher similar to the M270 LRU mounted on an 8×8 truck chassis.

By contrast, the competing Foudre system is presented as a HIMARS‑style 6×6 solution, with a single launcher pod carrying six rockets.
Under France’s Military Programming Law (LPM) 2024–2030, the goal is a sovereign replacement for M270 LRU launchers within the FLP‑T program. Two teams — Safran/MBDA and Thales/ArianeGroup — are working simultaneously, with a winner expected in 2026.

FLP‑T target parameters call for an initial range of more than 150 km, with army deliveries by 2030, followed by a later increase to 500–1,000 km. Those timelines prompted French planners to consider the Indian Pinaka MLRS as a stopgap if a capability gap emerges before a national system reaches mass production.

At the Paris Air Show in April 2025, the French team presented the Foudre MLRS as an entirely French alternative positioned against the U.S. HIMARS system.

Militarnyi previously reported that the French army plans to form a second rocket‑artillery regiment to provide strike support for a new combat corps the country is forming for NATO by 2030.

The armed forces aim to field a total of 26 multiple‑launch rocket systems — 13 per regiment.