France to increase defense spending by $42 billion, mulls new tank effort

Key Points:

• France announced a €36 billion ($42 billion) increase to its defense budget over the next four years, with total defense spending projected to reach €76.3 billion ($89.1 billion) by 2030, doubling in the past decade.
• The defense budget will represent about 2.6% of France's GDP, below NATO's 3.5% target by 2035, and remains subject to annual parliamentary approval.
• France is considering developing a new "intermediate" main battle tank as a stopgap measure before the Franco-German MGCS project is completed, potentially based on a KNDS platform with a French-designed turret.
• The updated military plan allocates €3.9 billion to enhance space surveillance and communication capabilities, and €8.5 billion for drones and missile procurement between 2026 and 2030, including expanding both basic and advanced drone fleets.
• Additional funds of €1.6 billion are earmarked for anti-drone systems, featuring technologies from jamming rifles to truck-mounted cannons with laser-guided rockets, while personnel targets include increasing reservists to 50,000 by 2030.