France to send 100 Delair attack drones to Ukraine
Photo: Х / Sébastien Lecornu
France will order 100 drones from Delair, a company specializing in drone production, for Ukraine.
The drones are expected to be delivered by early summer, Rubryka reports, citing French Minister of Defense Sébastien Lecornu.
The minister stated that France ordered 2,000 remotely controlled ammunition. France will use part of them, and the rest will be provided to Ukraine.
Par un programme innovant, la France commande 100 munitions téléopérées à Delair, qui arriveront en 🇺🇦 dès cet été.
Au total, 2000 munitions téléopérées seront commandées à notre industrie de défense. Pour les besoins de nos armées et les besoins de l'Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/dhxUR41lPU
— Sébastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) February 29, 2024
In September 2023, France already purchased 150 drones from Delair for Ukraine.
About Delair Company
Delair, one of the world's leading drone manufacturers, has been offering UAVs with fixed wings worldwide since 2011.
The drones are designed for border control, reconnaissance, and special operations forces.
"Our drones are designed for continuous use in any weather conditions, reliable, easy to repair, and equipped with quality sensors," the company said.
The program aims to develop French low-cost teleoperated combat drones quickly that will be easy to use and capable of hitting light targets within a range of 5 kilometers.
Delair DT46 drone
Delair DT46 Drone
The project proposed by NEXTER and the French drone company Delair aims to adapt a fixed-wing drone. This solution will allow the aircraft to cover longer distances and operate in open spaces. Presumably, the Delair Tech UX11 drone with a wingspan of 1.1 meters and a weight of up to 1.5 kilograms will be modified for these purposes.
Delair Drones offers three UAV models: DT46, DT26 Line, and UX11. The French army has chosen this company to create combat drones.
In January this year, French Minister of Defense Sébastien Lecornu announced the production of 78 self-propelled Caesar artillery howitzers for Ukraine.
From February 2022 to the end of 2023, France supplied Ukraine with 2,000 rounds per month, with plans to send 3,000 rounds per month from January onwards. Paris intended to send about 50 A2SM surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine each month until the end of January.
France also launched the "artillery coalition" to strengthen Ukraine's capabilities against Russia. France and the United States lead this coalition, which operates within the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the "Ramstein" format.
Drone supply from partner countries to Ukraine
Attention to drones arose when Ukraine faced a shortage of artillery, which could become critical over the next three months, so the military may have to focus on a narrower front.
The Drone Coalition officially started its work within the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The United Kingdom and Latvia have already announced the transfer of thousands of drones to Ukraine as co-leaders of a large international coalition.
The UK cooperates with allies, including the United States, to provide Ukraine with thousands of new drones supported by artificial intelligence.
In turn, the group of NATO countries intends to transfer a million drones to Ukrainian defenders as part of military assistance.
Ukraine is also building a fleet of military maritime drones, which it deploys to target Russian vessels in the Black Sea.
