France

By Robert Wall
Dassault Aviation Falcon business jet deliveries in 2025 again missed a full-year target, while Rafale fighter shipments topped the company’s forecast.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Robert Wall, Tony Osborne
After years of struggle, will 2026 bring a turnaround for the NH90 helicopter program?
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Robert Wall
An effort by France, Germany and Spain on their cooperative Future Combat Air System fighter program will continue into 2026.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Robert Wall
Saab says it has received an SEK12.3 billion ($1.3 billion) contract from France to finalize Paris’ purchase of two GlobalEye airborne early warning aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Robert Wall
French President Emmanuel Macron has said the country will proceed with plans to build a new aircraft carrier.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Robert Wall
The French Defense Innovation Fund and MBDA have taken a stake in NanoXplore, a company specializing in reprogrammable special-purposes semiconductors.
Supply Chain

By Robert Wall
Schiebel says it has logged the first flight trials for its S-300 helicopter uncrewed aircraft system.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Robert Wall
The French Defense Innovation Agency (AID) says startups ThrustMe and ION-X will provide the on-orbit propulsion systems for its Toutatis demo due in 2027.
Operations & Safety

By Vivienne Machi
The U.S. and France have completed a second bilateral, on-orbit operation related to dynamic space operations.
Operations & Safety

By Ben Goldstein
French startup Beyond Aero is moving from technology development toward industrial execution, outlining plans for a dedicated manufacturing facility.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Thierry Dubois
The French Environmental Authority (Ae) is recommending Aura Aero provides more details and analysis on the environmental impact of its factory.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Thierry Dubois
France's ARCC is seeing progress in raising awareness of the aviation community and official bodies about who to call after an accident.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Thierry Dubois
The French Air and Space Force plans to receive upgraded MBDA Mica NG air-to-air missiles in two years, without the need to modify the Rafales that carry them.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Robert Wall
French satellite-making startup U-Space has tasked MaiaSpace with launching the Toutatis demonstration due in 2027.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

By Robert Wall
France has completed the first flight test of the suborbital SyLEx sounding rocket, which gives the country its first homegrown suborbital launcher.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

By Thierry Dubois
The ESA will request €600 million from member states at a ministerial council later this month for the first cargo mission of the Argonaut lunar lander.
Space Exploration

By Thierry Dubois
France’s air chief is calling for more Rafales to form a dedicated nuclear squadron, which may ease training loads but create delivery schedule challenges.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
Dassault’s Rafale has become the second combat aircraft selected to be the backbone of Ukraine’s future air force.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Thierry Dubois
The French supply chain is back on its 2019 pre-pandemic activity levels and even surpassed them in 2024, aerospace lobby GIFAS says.
Manufacturing & Supply Chain

By Thierry Dubois
France is developing ground-based systems to protect its satellites, French President Emmanuel Macron said Nov. 12.
Satellites

By Tony Osborne
France has published images of its newly-upgraded ASMPA-R nuclear-tipped standoff missile for the first time, following a successful second firing.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Robert Wall, Tony Osborne
The sky is not the limit for Europe’s “Drone Wall” as the region looks at missile defense beyond the atmosphere.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Robert Wall, Jens Flottau
As the drama over the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System nears its climax, Airbus is sketching out what is to come.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Robert Wall
Paris has given Thales the nod to provide the next-generation, ground-based Aurore space surveillance radar to track spacecraft and debris in low Earth orbit.
Budget, Policy & Regulation

By Robert Wall
The French government has declared the latest iteration of its M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile is ready for operational service.
Missile Defense & Weapons