France, Estonia, Hungary, Belgium and Cyprus will jointly purchase Mistral short-range surface-to-air missiles, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday, highlighting the “good example of European cooperation”.
“This is a very good example of cooperation between European states in a very relevant area that has not been sufficiently addressed”emphasized the French head of state at the end of a conference on air defense in Paris.
The five countries signed a letter of intent for the purchase of “several hundred Mistral missiles”, described a presidential adviser, underlining that this is a “first case of joint purchase of this type of equipment”.
The Mistral, which entered service with the French army in 1988, was developed by the European weapons group MBDA and can hit targets up to six kilometers away.
Paris organized this conference to try to harmonize European positions at a time when Berlin launched a “European air shield initiative” (Euro Sky Shield) in October, bringing together 17 European countries, but not France or Italy, nor Poland, which provides for purchases of German, American and Israeli equipment.
This project is intended to rely on the German short-range Iris-T anti-aircraft systems, the North American Patriots for medium-range, and the Israeli-American Arrow-3 for long-range.
France, for its part, prefers to gamble on its own SAMP/T MAMBA medium-range land-air defense system, but insists on the problems posed by the German project.
Emmanuel Macron also announced this Monday that Belgium will join the European combat aircraft program – Combat Air System of the Future (SCAF) – developed by France, Germany and Spain.
“This is a great development. This expansion will further anchor this project in Europe at the heart of tomorrow’s air defense”emphasized the French president.
SCAF is due to be commissioned in 2040, but has already suffered significant delays.
The project, launched in 2017 to replace the French Rafale fighters and the German and Spanish Eurofighter, was the subject of a long blockade last year due to friction between the French Dassault Aviation and the European giant Airbus, pillars of this project, supported by the three countries.
This blockade ended on December 1, 2022 after intense political pressure, with the conclusion of an agreement setting out the division of labor for this massive industrial program.
Belgium will keep this observer status “initially” due to the “relatively complex” design and production phase at this stage of the project, which does not allow a more direct participation, according to the French presidency.
Source: DN
