24JUN

France orders more Damocles from KNDS

2 min read

16:13UTC

France's arms agency took up an option for more KNDS and Delair Damocles loitering munitions, and its prison service awarded €34m of counter-drone contracts on 13 October.

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TechnologyAssessed

Key takeaway

France took up a Damocles option and spent €34m on competed counter-drone kit for prisons.

France's arms agency, the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA), activated an optional tranche of its contract with KNDS and Delair for more Damocles loitering munitions (drones that circle over a target area, then dive into it), KNDS said on 13 October⁠¹. The tranche covers extra units already priced into the 2024 contract. It is France's third drone order since July, after Harmattan AI's interceptors and mine-warfare drones.

Opex360 reported that the 1st Artillery Regiment will form a battery of long-range loitering munitions while it waits for Thundart, the MBDA-Safran long-range strike system the DGA chose to replace its worn-out rocket launchers⁠².

France's prison administration awarded €34m of counter-drone contracts in a notice published on 13 October⁠³. NUANCES TECHNOLOGIES will supply detection and neutralisation systems, and INEO INFRACOM handheld detectors and portable jammers. Unlike the military buys, both lots went to competition.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

A loitering munition is a drone that circles over an area, finds a target and then dives into it like a guided bomb. France's army is buying more of a French-made one called Damocles. One artillery regiment will set up a unit with long-range versions while it waits for a new rocket system. Separately, France's prisons are buying equipment to spot and stop drones, including handheld detectors and jammers that block a drone's radio link.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

France's long-range rocket launchers are worn out, and Thundart is not yet in service. Loitering munitions with long range can hold some of the same targets at risk in the meantime.

The prison notice states no motive. Its handheld detectors and personal jammers point to guards stopping small drones over walls and yards, the method used to fly contraband into prisons.

What could happen next?

Meaning
France is fielding loitering munitions as an interim long-range strike capability.
Short term · Reported
Opportunity
Counter-drone firms gain a civil prison market with recurring service revenue.
Medium term · Assessed
Risk
Option tranches give no public price test for the army's loitering munitions.
Short term · Assessed

Source Landscape

This story draws on neutral-leaning sources

Primary parallel: France bought American MQ-9 Reaper drones in 2013 as a stopgap while a European MALE drone was still to be agreed, and the Reapers became central to its Sahel operations. A stopgap bought for speed can outlast the system it was meant to bridge.

Counter-parallel: Britain waited for its bespoke Watchkeeper surveillance drone, which reached service years late, and is now replacing it with Tekever's AR5. Waiting for the ideal system left a long capability gap.

Immediate: the tranche is already priced into the 2024 contract, according to KNDS, so the DGA buys without fresh price competition and KNDS and Delair gain volume without bidding. Neither quantity nor value has been published.

Structural: the prison contracts open a civil market for counter-drone firms that does not depend on defence budgets. Leasing in lot 1 gives suppliers recurring revenue rather than one-off sales.

Consensus view: Opex360 reports that the 1st Artillery Regiment's new battery is a stopgap until Thundart, the long-range strike system France has chosen. The Direction Générale de l'Armement chose speed here by activating an option already priced into an existing contract; with Harmattan AI's interceptors it moved fast another way, placing a first order the day after a trial ended.

Counter-view: France's prison administration took the slower route, with competed contracts concluded on 24 September and 1 October, and lets lot 1 be bought or leased, according to TED notice 706971-2026. A civil agency is treating counter-drone protection as a service it can renew, not equipment it must own.

Key tension: Whether the option route gives the army volume as well as speed, since no quantity has been published.

First Reported In

Update #19 · China puts drone-part exports under licence

KNDS via WebDisclosure· 26 Oct 2026

Read original →

Causes and effects

Caused by

France buys 50 Harmattan AI interceptors

France's September Harmattan AI interceptor order preceded the October Damocles tranche.

Occurred 23 Sept 2026

Read story →

France charters hulls for mine drones

France's July mine-warfare drone order was the second of three drone buys since July.

Occurred 21 Jul 2026

Read story →

This Event

France orders more Damocles from KNDS

France has now ordered interceptors, mine-warfare drones and loitering munitions since July, and is buying drone defences for its prisons.

Different Perspectives

EDGE Group

EDGE took control of Italian engine maker CMD in October and signed exploratory USV memorandums with Novamarine and Abu Dhabi Ship Building in early November. It is assembling an Italian hull and engine supply chain around Emirati autonomy, with no customer named.

Japan Ministry of Defense

Nikkei reported on 29 October that the ministry will start research in fiscal 2027 towards mass-producing underwater drones for detection and attack, with prototypes by fiscal 2035. The stated aim is to deter China's growing submarine fleet with fewer sailors at risk.

Kongsberg Discovery

Kongsberg received a $54m DIU modification, mainly for AUV deliveries, and Camilla Kiss said the unit has signed 1.7bn Norwegian kroner of AUV contracts in 2026. The Norwegian maker sells into the US market as an established production line.

Elbit Systems

Elbit bought ISE of Vancouver, maker of more than 250 AUVs, on 20 October for a price it called not material. The Israeli group adds an underwater vehicle line to its naval business.

Defense Acquisition Program Administration

DAPA's 179th committee cleared a 591bn won mine-warfare USV programme on 6 November, alongside the Jangbogo-N nuclear submarine. HD Hyundai's Long Beach trial with Anduril shows Korean industry pitching hulls abroad while Seoul funds its own.

Finland National Emergency Supply Agency

NESA opened an €11m competition on 4 November for radiation-sensing drones and ground robots, including quadrupeds, for the EU's rescEU stockpile. It is a civil-protection buyer using open tender, with a decision expected in March 2027.

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.