MBDA and Safran Electronics & Defense have entered the final phase of negotiations to conclude the future implementation contract with the French defence procurement agency (DGA) for the successor program to Lance-Roquettes Unitaire (LRU), with their solution THUNDART, the next-generation artillery system. This decision marks a major step in the renewal of French land strike capabilities in depth, and in the preparation for the replacement of the French LRU. The THUNDART system will also meet the operational needs of many French allied countries. Developed jointly by MBDA and Safran Electronics & Defense, THUNDART will offer the French armed forces a precision strike capability of up to 150 km, designed to meet the demands of high-intensity conflicts and capable of being deployed in the most contested environments. Designed, developed, and produced in France, THUNDART offers the French armed forces complete operational flexibility, regardless of the situation, while ensuring full autonomy in export decisions. Capable of entering operational service as early as 2030, THUNDART combines the recognized expertise of MBDA, Safran Electronics & Defense, and Roxel, a subsidiary of MBDA, in propulsion, guidance, navigation, and terminal precision. The system has been designed to maintain a high level of performance, even in degraded or contested environments, including in the event of jamming or loss of GNSS signals.
“This selection is a great source of pride for our teams, and we thank the DGA for the trust they have placed in us. It rewards several years of innovation, commitment, and collective work alongside MBDA. With THUNDART, we provide the French Army with a new-generation sovereign capability, able to operate in the most contested environments. This capability also meets the needs expressed by several France’s allied countries, with the potential to be offered for export”, added Alexandre Ziegler, Director of the Defense Global Business Unit of Safran Electronics & Defense.
“We are incredibly proud of this selection and the recognition of the work of our respective teams with Safran Electronics & Defense. THUNDART represents far more than a new strike capability: it is a sovereign, robust, and adaptable response to the operational challenges of the French Army. Thanks to the complementary nature of our industrial expertise, we are offering the French armed forces a strategic capacity designed to last, and capable of adapting to future conflicts”, said Stéphane Reb, EVP Programmes and Managing Director of MBDA France.
THUNDART is a complete artillery system including a launcher featuring integrated 2-axis turret and fire control system. The turret is loaded with two munition pods of four guided rockets each. Designed for ground-to-ground missions with range beyond in-service systems, it delivers up to 150 km shot, combining firepower and saturation capability with high precision, even in contested environments. Survivability is key, enabled by rapid “shoot-and-scoot” tactics to escape counter-battery fire. The guidance kit, deviated from the AASM Hammer, ensures robustness and reliability. With resilient PNT, THUNDART can engage static or moving targets in GNSS-denied or jammed conditions. The THUNDART launcher combines tactical mobility, endurance, and protection to meet the demands of high-intensity operations. A true cross-country system, it reaches speeds of up to 90 km/h and offers a range of up to 600 km, ensuring high maneuverability across the battlefield. Its configuration, featuring two pods of four munitions, combined with autonomous loading and unloading capability, enables rapid deployment and optimized logistics.
THUNDART is a comprehensive solution. The launcher is developed by Safran Electronics & Defense with the support of leading industrial partners, including Scania France, CMAR, and Essone. The system’s architecture allows for native integration with the French Army’s information systems, particularly the ATLAS fire management system. Its modular design also facilitates integration into various command ecosystems, thus meeting specific export markets requirements. The ammunition pod has also been designed for integration on other platforms to address the needs of export customers and to support the evolution of the long-range artillery market. In addition, MBDA and Safran Electronics & Defense plan to establish a joint venture, equally owned, to accelerate the development of THUNDART and its future upgrades, including range increases, adaptation to new operational environments, and continuous system capability enhancement. This industrial momentum will be accompanied by recruitment at several strategic sites: Fougères, Éragny, Montluçon for Safran Electronics & Defense, and Bourges, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Selles-Saint-Denis, Le Plessis-Robinson for MBDA.
MBDA is a unique multi-national European group, a global leader in complex weapon systems, playing a key role in the protection of nations. Established in the spirit of international co-operation, MBDA and its 21,000+ employees work together to support the sovereignty of its nations, and allied countries worldwide. As an accelerator of innovation, MBDA is the only European group capable of designing and manufacturing complex weapons to meet all current and future operational requirements of all three of the armed forces (land, sea and air). Headquartered in Le Plessis-Robinson near Paris, France, the company was founded in December 2001 via the merger of three of the most prominent European missile systems companies: the French Aérospatiale Matra Missiles, the Anglo-French Matra BAe Dynamics and the missile division of the Anglo-Italian Alenia Marconi Systems. These businesses were subsidiaries of EADS (now called Airbus), BAE Systems and Finmeccanica (now Leonardo), and all three remain MBDA’s parent companies. MBDA is owned by Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%) and Leonardo (25%).
Safran Electronics & Defense is a high-technology industrial company operating in the aerospace, defense, and space sectors. For over 100 years, the company has been designing, developing, and manufacturing equipment and services for both civil and military clients – on land, at sea, in the air and in space. A leader in its markets, Safran Electronics & Defense offers cutting-edge solutions in avionics, critical electronics, optronics, inertial navigation, precise timing, guidance, actuation, flight controls, satellite engines, and artificial intelligence for industry and defense. Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aviation (propulsion, equipment and interiors), defense and space markets. Its core purpose is to contribute to a safer, more sustainable world, where air transport is more environmentally friendly, comfortable and accessible. Safran has a global presence, with more than 110,000 employees and revenue of 31.3 billion euros in 2025, and holds, alone or in partnership, global or regional leadership positions in its core markets. Safran undertakes research and development programs to maintain the environmental priorities of its R&T and Innovation roadmaps. Safran is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange and is part of the CAC 40 and Euro Stoxx 50 indices.
