“AndThis is a very good example of cooperation between European countries in a very closely related area that has not been sufficiently covered, ”emphasized the French head of state at the conclusion of a conference on air defense in Paris.
The five countries signed a letter of intent to acquire “several hundred Mistral missiles,” which a presidential advisor identified, and confirmed that this was “the first case of joint purchase of this type of material.”
Entering service in 1988 with the French Army, the Mistral, developed by the European arms group MBDA, can hit targets up to six kilometers away.
Paris organized this conference to try to harmonize European positions at a time when Berlin launched the “Euro Sky Shield” initiative in October, which brings together 17 European countries, but not France, Italy or Poland, which includes purchases. German, American and Israeli equipment.
This project intends to rely on the German Iris-T short-range anti-aircraft systems, the North American Patriot systems for the medium range and the Israeli-American Arrow-3 missiles for the long range.
France, for its part, prefers to continue betting on its SAMP / T MAMBA medium-range air defense system, but insists on the problems posed by the German project.
Emmanuel Macron also announced today that Belgium will join the European combat aircraft program – the Future Combat Aviation System (SCAF) – developed by France, Germany and Spain.
“This is a great development. This expansion will make it possible to further consolidate this project in Europe in the air defense center of tomorrow,” the French president highlighted.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is scheduled to enter service in 2040, but it has already suffered many delays.
The project was launched in 2017 to replace the French Rafale fighters and the German and Spanish Eurofighter, and the project was subject to a long blockade last year, due to friction between the French airline Dassault Aviation and the European giant Airbus, the pillars of this project with the support of the three companies. countries.
This blockade ended on December 1, 2022, after intense political pressure, with the conclusion of an agreement providing for the division of labor for this massive industrial programme.
The French presidency indicated that Belgium would retain observer status “in principle”, given the “relatively complex” design and production phase at this stage of the project, which does not allow for more direct participation.
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