Yes, that Renault: French carmaker moves into military drone production
January 21, 2026
France’s car company, Renault, has stated it is teaming up with Turgis Gaillard to develop military drones under the supervision of France’s defence procurement agency. Early reporting suggests the French are looking for a mass-produced, low-cost Shahed-style drone solution.
Renault to help develop France’s military drone industry
Renault’s Chief Growth Officer Fabrice Cambolive told French news channel BFM TV that the French Ministry contacted Renault a few months ago to develop a French drone industry.
Les images du tout premier vol (piloté) du drone de combat AAROK, du groupe 🇫🇷 Turgis et Gaillard, qui a eu lieu en septembre 2025. Doté d’une endurance supérieure à 24 heures, ce sera à terme le plus grand appareil sans pilote jamais conçu en France. https://t.co/W1NHuWAEGQ pic.twitter.com/ANxAk8CYrW
— Le Génie Humain (@legeniehumain) September 30, 2025
He added, “We were contacted for our industrial, production and design expertise.” The French news outlet, La Tribune, framed it differently as Renault “finally yielding” to the French demands.
While this means that Renault is branching into the defence industry, Cambolive reassured that its core business will remain cars. Renault reportedly doesn’t want defence to contribute more than 5% of its revenue.
French vehicle manufacturer Renault will start building long-range attack drones at its Le Mans and Cléon plants.
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) January 19, 2026
Renault will produce up to 600 of the drones per month, with some employees voluntarily transferred from the automotive chassis and motor lines. pic.twitter.com/h52Nk57xiG
Reuters wrote, “Military efforts linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the new needs identified by Europe in response to the evolution of U.S. foreign policy have created new requirements for weapons and military equipment that traditional defence sectors will struggle to meet in the short term.”
Renault and Turgis Gaillard form 50/50 partnership on military drones
La Tribune reported that Renault will partner 50/50 with Turgis Gaillard, a French company of 400 employees and just €80 million in revenue. It has expertise in defence and drone design (including its 20-metre wingspan Aarok drone).
🇫🇷 Thales et @TurgisGaillard unissent leurs expertises pour créer une solution de surveillance aéronautique de nouvelle génération.
— Thales Group (@thalesgroup) June 22, 2025
✅Au cœur de cette solution 100% française :
‣ Le drone MALE AAROK (Moyenne Altitude Longue Endurance)
‣ Le radar AirMaster S, multi-rôle, à… pic.twitter.com/jdkdWaSEq5
The publication says the initial contract is €35 million for industrialising a tactical drone with a wingspan of around 10 metres “at a highly competitive price.” It will have a speed of around 400 kh/h and an altitude of around 5,000 metres.
At this stage, Turgis Gaillard and Renault have not received orders for the drone.
Reuters reported it is unclear which Renault plant the drone will be built at, although La Tribune stated the drone assembly line will be set up at the Renault plant in Le Mans. That plant is responsible for manufacturing chassis, components, and cast parts.
American Shahed 2? You bet! Meet the MQM-172 "Arrowhead", an enhanced US copy of the Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drone. This is apparently the second Shahed clone; the first, called LUCAS (Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System), was developed by Arizona-based SpektreWorks and… pic.twitter.com/ptI5iq9vk9
— Air Power (@RealAirPower1) August 8, 2025
Expected drone production is to amount to up to 600 units a month by the first year of operation. The initial flight tests of the prototype are scheduled for September 2026.
Get the latest aerospace defence news here on AGN.
France pursues Shahed-style low-cost attack drone capability
La Tribune said the partnership has managed to reduce the cost of the drone by a factor of ten compared with equivalent products on the market.
It says that Renault has been able to notably improve the drone’s design and has selected much cheaper components.
France’s L’Usine Nouvelle reported that the project is “intended to provide France with a long-range remotely operated munition similar to the Iranian Shahed.”
It is perhaps ironic that the Shahed-style one-way attack drone is now associated with Iran and Russia, given that the design was first developed by West Germany’s Dornier in the 1980s.
It’s also worth noting that the United States is now mass-producing its own Shahed-style one-way attack drones called the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack Systems (LUCAS).
While available nighttime footage online doesn’t visually show the US using LUCAS in the January operation to arrest Venezuela’s Maduro, audio recordings in some videos appear to have the tell-tale moped or chainsaw sound of a Shahed-style drone.
Featured Image: US CENTCOM
