France is moving to build military drones on an industrial scale by linking automakers and automotive suppliers with defense companies. At least six such partnerships have been announced since the start of 2026, as the government seeks to apply the car sector’s automation, production capacity and cost controls to drone manufacturing, Defense News reported.

The projects could eventually support combined production of about 60,000 drones a year if the plans involving Renault, Schaeffler and Forvia are realized. That would give France a larger production base than defense startups could typically create alone, although the planned output remains far below the scale pursued by Ukraine and Russia.

The industrial effort reflects the changing role of drones in warfare. Ukraine has used them for reconnaissance, battlefield combat and long-range strikes, while Russia has also deployed them at large scale. The conflict has driven France and other European countries to prioritize domestic drone manufacturing. Pressure from Washington for Europe to strengthen its military capabilities has added urgency to that effort.

French defense officials do not anticipate an immediate need to deploy large numbers of drones over France. They say the country needs the ability to produce the systems quickly and increase output if a conflict creates urgent demand. A July report from the French Senate’s defense committee described France’s existing stock of a few thousand drones as “insufficient to achieve a critical mass.”

Several of the partnerships are tied to specific production targets. Renault partnered with Thales in June to industrialize the Toutatis loitering munition, with a goal of producing as many as 1,000 units per month from 2027. Renault is also working with Turgis & Gaillard to develop a long-range drone.

French drone maker Delair and German automotive supplier Schaeffler agreed in June to establish a French production line capable of making about 100 drones per day by November. Forvia has announced a partnership with a European defense company specializing in artificial-intelligence counter-drone systems and is considering French capacity for 1,000 interceptor drones per month.

Valeo has said it will manufacture electric drone motors in France for Harmattan AI, a defense technology company. The projects extend beyond final assembly by bringing automotive manufacturing methods and components into drone production. Renault Chief Executive François Provost said the Toutatis design was being changed to use fewer parts and injection-molded plastic, replacing a current 3D-printed model to enable cheaper, higher-volume manufacturing.

The partnerships are intended to address a problem that defense companies may struggle to solve on their own: producing large numbers of relatively inexpensive systems while adapting designs as technology changes. Patrick Pailloux, head of France’s defense procurement agency, said the agency was working with automotive subcontractors to design drones that could be produced in large quantities.

“It’s not the same: producing a drone in a defense start-up and making something that can be reproduced in very large volumes using production-line robots,” Pailloux said.

The expansion also creates a procurement and technology-management problem. French officials want enough drones for training and enough production capacity to absorb a sudden increase in demand, while avoiding large stockpiles of systems that could become obsolete. Patrice Caine, chief executive of defense technology group Thales, has described drones as systems that evolve quickly as technology advances.

The French government has also backed the sector’s development. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu pledged a €150 million ($175 million) investment to develop a dedicated drone sector in December. Antoine Level, head of France’s drone industry association, said France still lacked enough orders to stimulate the market fully and that Germany was ahead in funding short-range drones.

The factory plans set capacity goals for November and from 2027, while the government and industry continue to address orders, design changes and the need to avoid obsolete inventories. France’s effort is focused on creating the industrial capacity to expand military drone production when demand rises.