Ukraine and France Accelerate Joint Development of Interceptor Drones and New Mirage Missiles

Ukraine and France have agreed to speed up joint development of technologies to counter jet-powered drones such as the Geran.

The Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs of France announced the agreement.

The cooperation will focus on building on the work of France’s Defence Innovation Agency (AID) and Ukraine’s defense technology platform Brave1.

The two countries will build on the ELISA program (Équipement léger d’interception de systèmes autonomes), which involves the development of interceptor drones.

Meanwhile, France and Ukraine have agreed to speed up work to integrate new air-launched weapons onto Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighter jets.

The move would improve their ability to destroy fast-moving aerial targets while conserving the limited supply of existing air-to-air guided missiles.

The most likely weapons to be integrated are the French-Belgian FZ275 LGR 70 mm guided missiles, produced by Thales.

The missile can hit targets at ranges of up to 3 km. It can be launched from Vampire ground-based systems as well as from the U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets operated by Ukraine’s Defense Forces.

Another option is to equip French 68 mm SNEB rockets with a new guidance system. These rockets are standard weapons used by Mirage-family aircraft.

In April, France began developing a new type of guided 68 mm rocket designed to counter drones. The rocket will be compatible with existing launch pods, allowing up to 24 rockets to be carried on a single aircraft.

Another option is to adapt U.S.-made 70 mm rockets fitted with the APKWS (Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System) guidance kit.

The system converts standard unguided Hydra 70 aerial rockets into precision-guided weapons by adding a laser-guidance module.