France plans to transfer kamikaze drones of a new generation to Ukraine in the coming weeks. Minister of the Armed Forces of France Sébastien Lecornu announced this in an interview with Le JDD.
"The development project of a new generation of kamikaze drones is currently in the testing phase. Ukraine will be one of the first to experience the benefits of these drones in the coming weeks. It is also an opportunity to test the new generation of equipment in combat," Lecornu said.
He cited the integration of artificial intelligence into the "Cesar" artillery as another example of rapid innovation and thanked the employees of two Nexter factories who are currently working in three shifts to produce the promised 78 artillery pieces for Ukraine.
Regarding ammunition, the minister noted that support has been increased by tripling the monthly deliveries of shells to Ukraine. "And now we produce 3000 shells per month. However, this volume is still far from sufficient," he said. Lecornu also announced the start of construction of a new gunpowder production plant, which "will be able to produce 150,000 shells per year."
"France is one of the European countries that trains the most Ukrainian soldiers: we have already trained 10,000 since the beginning of the war, and by 2024, we will train another 7,000 to 9,000 in general and specialized courses," he detailed.
According to him, the strengthening of military support in terms of armament, technical maintenance of equipment, and soldier training is recorded in the bilateral agreement signed by the presidents of Ukraine and France on Friday. Its task is to "preserve Ukraine's defense and counterattack capability."
The minister emphasized that between 2017 and 2030, France's military budget will double and increase from 32 to 68 billion euros.
"The cyber attack suffered by a major French defense company a few months ago clearly had Russian origins and aimed to disrupt the production of military equipment for France and our allies," the minister said.
According to him, Russia under Putin's leadership is taking an increasingly aggressive position and increasing threats, including blackmail with resources, nuclear weapons, and destabilizing the country by manipulating information. "As a democratic country, we are particularly sensitive to disinformation operations. France and the United States have become victims of such operations during electoral campaigns, which are the basis of our democratic processes," Lecornu noted.
