Renault teams up with Thales to boost France’s drone production

France’s Renault Group will produce military drones with defense technology firm Thales, the companies said on Tuesday, marking a further push by the automaker into defense manufacturing.Renault will build Thales’ Toutatis remotely operated loitering munitions at one of its factories, with production of 1,000 units a month starting as early as next year, and targeting mainly overseas markets.The agreement, announced at the Eurosatory defense fair outside Paris, is the second partnership in defense between the two groups, which are also working together on a military vehicle. The companies said the deal would significantly ramp up France’s industrial capacity in a strategic area. Loitering munitions — drones that hover over a target area before striking — have played a central role in the war in Ukraine.“We started with the military need,” said Thales CEO Patrice Caine. “We closely examined what’s happening in a number of theaters of operation, particularly in the East, but not exclusively.”Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a shift in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump have driven European countries to boost defense spending, prompting arms makers to tap spare capacity in the auto sector to increase output.SCALING UP DRONE PRODUCTIONRenault said in February it had been asked by France’s armed forces ministry to help strengthen the country’s defense sector.Renault’s industrial expertise will help scale up drone production more quickly and at lower cost, CEO Francois Provost said.Thales currently produces around 100 units of the Toutatis drone per year. The partnership with Renault will increase output by switching from 3D printing to larger-scale plastic injection molding, with the drone’s design being adapted to allow for the higher production volume. A 40% reduction in the number of parts and fasteners will also help lower costs, said Provost.Asked about the cost of the new munition compared to others on the market such as the Damocles from KNDS and Del