Satellite Programs & Technology Dassault Aviation Safran Military Aircraft Procurement Missile Systems & Strategic Weapons Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation Space Exploration & Science Missions Sustainability & Climate Initiatives Airbus Thales

France advances sovereign strike, combat-aircraft and space-intelligence capabilities alongside new Earth-observation launches

France’s DGA has awarded the THUNDART long-range strike contract to Safran Electronics & Defense and MBDA, launched initial Rafale F5 work with four major suppliers, and selected Airbus Defence and Space and Unseenlabs for the Cassiopée intelligence system. Separately, FLEX and Sentinel-3C entered orbit aboard Vega-C.

Discovered 2026-09-14T21:05:39.811094-07:00 | 2026-09-14T21:05:39.811094-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

The THUNDART award and Rafale F5 contracts deepen France’s sovereign long-range strike and combat-aircraft capabilities, involving MBDA, Safran, Dassault, Thales and the DGA.
The Cassiopée program is intended to succeed France’s Cérès system in 2032 and strengthen electromagnetic intelligence from space through Airbus Defence and Space and Unseenlabs.
The concurrent Vega-C launch of FLEX and Sentinel-3C expands Europe’s Earth-observation capacity, underscoring the breadth of current French and European aerospace activity.

Reported By

corrierecomunicazioni.it refrance.fr actu-aero.fr spaceanddefense.io Spaceflight Now thalesgroup.com