“We use over 300 types of speed cameras, but this will be the icing on the cake.” Dressed in a khaki sweatshirt, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov shows his satisfaction on February 1 during a visit to the Thalès factory in Limours (Essonne), accompanied by Sébastien Lecornu, his counterpart French. It is here that the formidable Ground Master 200 (GM200) is produced, of which kyiv will receive a copy. Already sold to more than a dozen countries, this self-propelled radar, which can be deployed in just ten minutes, is the ultimate in detecting high-flying aircraft, low-flying slow drones and even artillery fire.
A year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, France wants to register its aid over the long term. It is no longer just a question of drawing from the old or modern equipment of its armies, but of associating its military-industrial ecosystem with it and making it known. At the Ministry of the Armed Forces, we note that the “Ukrainians make tailor-made requests by country” and that France is “highly expected on anti-aircraft defenses, but also on artillery”.
In addition to a GM200, financed via a special fund of 200 million euros to support Ukraine, France will provide “in the spring”, with Italy, one of the most advanced medium-range ground-to-air systems. : the SAMP/T – MAMBA. It will also deliver twelve new Caesar guns. They will not be taken from the army’s stock, like the first eighteen, but will come directly from Nexter, which has accelerated its production rates. Of the two machines produced per month before the war, the industrial group is pleased to have increased to six at the start of the year.
Counting the 19 offered by Denmark, the Ukrainians will soon have a fleet of 48 of these self-propelled howitzers (one of the first delivered by Paris is out of order), the firing range of which is 40 kilometers. The military appreciate their precision, their mobility and the easy maintenance of their chassis on wheels, assumed by agricultural maintenance personnel. Industrial adjustments also concern ammunition. The day before Oleksiy Reznikov’s arrival, France launched a partnership aimed at producing more 155 mm shells using powder from Australia. And if kyiv needs new Aster missiles for its MAMBA, Paris and Rome have just ordered 700 from the French manufacturer MBDA.
France more discreet
Certainly, these volumes are far from those of the United States, and lower than those of Germany, which had kept in its stocks certain weapons withdrawn from service. Taking into account its share in European aid, Paris’ support for Ukraine is in 3rd place in the Kiel Institute’s ranking, behind Berlin, but ahead of London. The French army has also already trained 700 Ukrainian soldiers (deminers, Caesar operators). And “out of the 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers who will be trained” via the European Union this year, it “will train 2,000 initially”, underlines the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
More discreet than Washington on this point, Paris also keeps secret the total amount of its aid, certain equipment or their number. What more can she give? “It can continue to deliver examples of vehicles that it is gradually withdrawing from service, such as VAB troop transports or AMX-10 RC [blindés de reconnaissance équipés d’un canon]but little more, except to slash its operational capacities”, underlines Léo Péria-Peigné, researcher in armaments and prospective at the French Institute of International Relations.
Regarding its Leclerc tanks and its Mirage 2000 fighter planes, Paris has chosen not to comment officially. kyiv does not intend, at this stage, to put any particular pressure on it regarding these two advanced armaments, especially since the Ukrainians have obtained from the Germans that they unblock the delivery of the most widespread Western tank on the continent, the Leopard 2. On combat aircraft, they are rather targeting the American F-16s – the most used in the world – knowing that France, if it gave the green light for the delivery of the Mirage 2000s, could only provide a small number of aircraft.