French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu said France wants a new iteration of the European Union’s Act in Support of Ammunition Production, Defense News reported. The European Commission provided $540 million in funding ASAP to boost the supply of defense material among European allies.
Lecornu disclosed Paris’ call for a new ASAP-like program in a press briefing with Danish counterpart, Troels Lund Poulsen, ahead of an EU defense ministers’ meeting in Warsaw. The items for discussion at the meeting include defense development and financing within the 27-nation EU bloc.
Funding Missile Procurement
The French minister noted that a new EU ammunition program should cover ordinary and more sophisticated munitions, such as missiles. In addition to a new ASAP, the EC could support corporate financing and missile purchases of European countries to host the licensed production facilities of missile manufacturer MBDA.
At the same media briefing, Danish Minister of Defence Lund Poulsen said Stockholm, which is increasing defense spending by $7.2 billion in the next two years, is eying new missile procurements from France after having formalized its purchase of French Mistral short-range air defense missiles.
Satellite Constellation Development
Lecornu also disclosed that France is batting for an EC budget increase to accelerate the development of the IRIS2 sovereign satellite constellation.
He noted that the project is advancing but is challenged regarding time execution. According to the Defense News report, the IRIS2 consortium, with SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat as lead, aims for full operation by the 2030s, compared to an EU goal of full service by 2027.