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France selects THUNDART for long-range land strike
France’s procurement agency selected THUNDART, a joint MBDA-Safran program, to develop a sovereign long-range land-strike capability for the Army and replace its ageing LRU rocket artillery. The award followed a successful demonstration firing in April 2026 and is intended to deliver an autonomous operational capability by 2030. MBDA will lead the weapon effort while Safran contributes inertial navigation and optronics designed for GPS-denied conditions, giving France a domestically controlled deep-strike option able to evolve through later upgrades throughout future conflicts.