France ‘Quickly’ Seeking U.S.-made Switchblade Loitering Munitions

France wants to quickly procure Switchblade loitering munitions produced by American firm AeroVironment.

Col. Arnaud Goujon, the Army’s chief of plans, told reporters at the Eurosatory exhibition in Paris, France, that the Army is looking to add Switchblade to its inventory within the next six months.

In a Tuesday email to Defense News, the French Armed Forces Ministry confirmed the country is in the process of launching a Foreign Military Sales  (FMS) request “for the acquisition of Switchblade remote-operated ammunition.”

“This launch aims to set up a first urgent capacity for the benefit of the French forces,” the ministry wrote.

The Pentagon in April announced plans to supply the Switchblade munition to Ukraine to support its fight against Russia.

The service is looking for a capability “that is different” than a mortar or an artillery shell, Goujon said at Eurosatory. “If it is the same price of a mortar round that goes about 3 kilometers away and flies for 15 minutes, then it’s interesting.”

If the weapon can fly 30 or 50 kilometers away and has an endurance of two to four hours, “suddenly, I can task it on a recovering mission … then it’s a different animal,” Goujon said.

Neither Goujon nor the ministry commented on how many units the Army plans to acquire, and they would not provide a value of the foreign military sale, the report said. French news outlets reported this month that the ministry’s procurement office was looking to acquire 82 remotely operated weapon systems.