France Orders Tens of Thousands of Thales' 120mm Rifled Ammunition

France's Joint Munitions Command (Service Interarmées des Munitions / SiMu) had placed an order with Thales for tens of thousands of 120mm rifled ammunition.

This follows previous orders of 3,000 rounds of 120mm illuminating ammunition in 2022 and 15,000 rounds of 120mm explosive and exercise ammunition in 2023.

To meet the increased demand, Thales plans to quadruple production at its La Ferté Saint Aubin site near Orleans. The site, which produced 20,000 120mm mortar rounds in 2023, is set to increase its annual production to more than 80,000 rounds by 2026.

These munitions are earmarked for use by artillery units equipped with towed rifled 120mm mortars and, in the future, by the MEPAC system (Embedded Mortar for Close Support). They will also support the newly created towed mortar support sections of the infantry under the LPM 24-30 framework.

The contract includes a mix of high-explosive (HE) rounds, making up two-thirds of the order, and practice rounds for the remaining third. The ammunition will be integrated with the MEPAC1 variant of the Griffon multi-role armored vehicle, featuring the ATLAS2 automated artillery fire control system.

In addition to providing ammunition, Thales will offer technical assistance, support for integrating the mortar systems on board the vehicles, and maintenance services for both the mortar systems and the munitions.

Production at the La Ferté Saint Aubin site will be supported by various Thales partner SMEs within the defense industrial and technological base, particularly those specializing in manufacturing machined projectile bodies and mechanical components. The munitions will be delivered between 2024 and 2029, with the first shipment scheduled for the last quarter of 2024.

Thales' rifled mortars are three times more accurate than smooth-bore mortars and are comparable in performance to 155mm artillery systems.