After Mercedes’ entry into the drone business, the French group Renault also announced its entry into that segment. They signed a strategic partnership agreement with the also French technology company Thales to jointly develop and industrialize the mass production of Thales’ “wandering munitions” called TOUTATIS. This step followed immediately after the two groups presented to the public the innovative tactical vehicle 4 TROOP, and the collaboration directly combines Thales’ advanced defense solutions and Renault Group’s engineering and production capacities.
The main intention of this connection is the establishment of an agile, competitive and sovereign drone industry within France, which is fully aligned with the current requirements of the war economy. According to official estimates, serial production should start already next year. The planned production capacity will amount to 1,000 units per month already during the first year, which represents a significant jump in French industrial potential in this sector.
Characteristics of the TOUTATIS system
The new TOUTATIS short-range roving munition (i.e. disposable drone) is designed for high-intensity conflicts and provides armed forces with a new type of operational advantage. The system is characterized by exceptional versatility, so it can be operated by infantry units in the field, and it can be launched from different platforms, including combat vehicles, aircraft and naval vessels. TOUTATIS is immune to electromagnetic interference and is equipped with an interchangeable warhead that can be configured depending on the specifics of the mission.
Thales
The system successfully neutralizes targets such as combat vehicles, while always keeping the human operator in the decision-making circle. It also has the ability to operate as part of a swarm of drones and represents a scalable solution that can easily be adapted to the requirements of the military. This approach additionally ensures France’s sovereignty in the field of defense, the partners said when signing the agreement.
Innovative tactical vehicle
As part of the Eurosatory defense exhibition, Renault Group and Thales further strengthened their cooperation by presenting the 4 TROOP vehicle, which was designed to meet the modern challenges of the ground forces. This is a tactical vehicle based on Renault’s Rafale civilian SUV model, specifically the plug-in hybrid version of the Rafale E-Tech 4×4 with 300 HP. The vehicle uses a modular construction platform called CMF-CD, which within the Renault group is also shared by the Austral and Espace models.
In this military version, with the integration of drones, sensors, hybrid secure communications and decision support tools, which are enhanced by artificial intelligence, the vehicle offers significantly more advanced operational capabilities. Its goal is to provide units with a significantly higher level of perception of the situation on the ground, a faster reaction and increase their operational capability. The integration of advanced technology within proven Renault chassis creates prerequisites for the rapid and cost-optimized production of new military capacities, is the message from the Renault Group.