7 June 2025

French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu has stated that a French car manufacturer, in cooperation with a defence company, will launch drone production in Ukraine.

Source: Le Monde; European Pravda

Details: French car and defence companies will manufacture drones on Ukrainian territory. Lecornu considers this a “mutually beneficial” partnership with Kyiv.

“We are launching an entirely new partnership, under which a major French car company will join forces with a small or medium-sized French defence business to establish production lines in Ukraine for manufacturing drones,” he said.

He did not specify the type of drones but noted they would be used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Lecornu also mentioned that these drones would be available to French armed forces so they “maintain constant tactical and operational training that corresponds to the realities” of the war in Ukraine.

He said that Ukraine would provide feedback on the use of these drones in combat conditions.

“There is no need to ask French citizens to work on the production line in Ukraine,” Lecornu emphasised.

He added that Ukrainians are “better than us at developing drones and, most importantly, at forming the doctrine of their application”.

Background: 

• On 5 June, Ukrainian and French defence ministers discussed possibilities for joint weapons production for the needs of Ukraine’s defence forces during a meeting in Brussels.
• Ukraine and its partner countries decided to establish a mechanism for defence production, according to an agreement reached at the 28th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (also known as the Ramstein Format) held on 4 June at NATO headquarters.

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https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/06/7/7516065