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The French automaker Renault has announced the launch of long-range unmanned aerial vehicle production in cooperation with the defense company Turgis Gaillard. The project is being implemented under a contract with the French Directorate General of Armaments and may reach a total value of approximately €1 billion over a ten-year period.
Conceptually, the new drones are expected to be comparable to Iran’s Shahed systems, which are known as relatively low-cost platforms with long endurance and the ability to be used for both strike missions and reconnaissance. The drones are designed for remote operation by human operators and are intended for large-scale production.
Renault confirmed its involvement in the project following a report by L’Usine Nouvelle, but refrained from providing official comments on the financial terms of the contract. French media report that the company’s production capacity will be utilized across two facilities: the Le Mans plant will manufacture the drone airframes, while the Cleon facility, located in western France, will handle the production of propulsion systems.
According to La Tribune, the new Renault and Turgis Gaillard drones will have a wingspan of approximately 10 meters. The project is also reported to focus on an “extremely competitive” cost structure, enabling production scaling without a significant increase in expenses.
Renault’s Director of Development, Fabrice Cambolive, confirmed that the initiative was launched with direct government involvement. In an interview with BFM TV, he stated that the French Ministry of Armed Forces approached the company several months ago, inviting it to contribute to the development of a national drone industry. According to Cambolive, Renault was selected for its expertise in industrial scaling, quality control, and engineering design. He emphasized that the project is already in an active phase of implementation.
L’Usine Nouvelle reports that the drones in question are long-range systems capable of performing extended missions. They are intended as versatile platforms for combat operations, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
The Renault contract comes amid an active French government push to reorient the defense sector. President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly called on the national defense-industrial complex in recent months to adopt a “war economy” approach, citing rising global instability. He has also publicly criticized the pace of defense production, emphasizing the need for acceleration and increased efficiency.
The new drone project allows Renault to apply its mass-production expertise to the defense sector. According to Reuters, Renault and Turgis Gaillard plan to reach a production rate of up to 600 drones per month by the end of the first year of manufacturing.
Analysts note that the French initiative reflects a broader European trend. EU governments are increasingly involving automotive and industrial companies in large-scale defense production. For example, auto parts supplier Valeo is already participating in the so-called “drone pact,” which includes around 100 companies from both the defense and civilian sectors.
Despite this new direction, Renault’s leadership emphasizes that the automotive business remains the company’s core activity. Fabrice Cambolive specifically stressed that involvement in drone production does not signal a strategic shift for the brand, but is treated as a separate industrial project in partnership with the government.
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Source: Interestingengineering