France Tests First Homegrown Kamikaze Drone, Set to Deliver to Ukraine

France has tested its first domestically-developed loitering munition, also known as a kamikaze drone, announced French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu.

The Colibri loitering munition, developed by Delair and KNDS, boasts a 5-kilometer operational range and costs less than €20,000 per unit. Initial deliveries of 100 units are planned for Ukraine, with a total of 2,000 drones to be produced for the French military. Ukraine, heavily reliant on drones in its conflict with Russia, will receive the first batch in 2024-2025.

Delair has earlier supplied Ukraine with 100 UX-11 reconnaissance drones and 50 larger DT-26 surveillance drones, bolstering the country's intelligence and battlefield monitoring capabilities.

Lecornu announced earlier this year that the French military would order 2,000 kamikaze drones, with the first 100 designated for delivery to Ukraine. The minister said such drones are “absolutely fundamental” and would complement the CAESAR howitzers supplied to Ukraine.

Since the full-scale war began in 2022, France has committed around $3.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including Caesar howitzers and AMX-10 armored vehicles, with plans to supply Mirage 2000 jets in 2025.

Russia has extensively deployed kamikaze drones, such as Iranian-made Shahed drones and domestically-produced Lancets, in attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and military targets.