The French are the only ones in Europe who are almost self-sufficient in producing high quality military vehicles, firearms, ships and aircraft and weapons. Their products have been exported worldwide and have been the star in several major wars. In this article, I will document the top 10 weapons which are used by the French military based on their technology, quality and success in conflicts. I won’t be going deep into the technical aspects of any of these systems and this article is meant as a guide to some of the best weapons made and used by the French.

10. Crotale (Mobile SAM system)



The Crotale is one of the most successful SAM design ever built. This air defense system still evolves and remains in production for more than 40 years. A wide range of its variants have been built. It is in service with 15 countries.

The Crotale is a point defense system, designed to protect high value targets, such as airfields, military bases, ammunition depots, and so on. The original design aim of the Crotale was to engage supersonic low-flying aircraft.

Note :

Only 2 countries in the world have developed a self-propelled, self-contained SAM system capable of firing radar guided missiles, France and Russia. The Crotale is a short range SAM system which can be mounted on a tracked chassis or on a 6×6,8×8 wheeled vehicle. This mobility, combined with 8 containerized missiles, a search and tracking radar, provide the French forces with an easy to deploy and powerful air defense capability.

9. SCALP Cruise Missile



The Storm Shadow / SCALP is a long-range, air-launched, stand-off attack missile designed and developed by France-based MBDA Systems. The missile was developed primarily for the UK and French armed forces. It is derived from the MBDA Systems’ Apache anti-runway missile.

The missile is intended to strike high-valued stationary assets such as airbases, radar installations, communications hubs and port facilities. The Storm Shadow is capable of engaging the targets precisely in any weather conditions during day and night. The long range and low attitude combined with subsonic speed make the Storm Shadow a stealthy missile.

The Storm Shadow is also in service with the air forces of Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is referred to as Black Shaheen in the UAE Air Force service.

The Storm Shadow can be integrated into Tornado GR4, Tornado IDS, Saab Gripen, Mirage 2000, Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.

8. Horizon Class Destroyer



The Horizon program was a joint venture between UK, France an Italy to develop a common next generation Air Defense Destroyer. But after the UK dropped out to pursue their Daring class, France and Italy carried on with the program and 4 ships were a result of this. France operates 2 of these powerful destroyers. It is referred to as frigates, but in terms of displacement and armament, they are definitely destroyers and the frigate term is purely political.

The distinct piece of equipment on these ships is their primary EMPAR multifunction G-band AESA radar and their secondary Thales S1850 volume search AESA radar. These ships are equipped with 48 A50 VLS cells for a mix of Aster-15/30 missiles. The range and capabilities of these missiles enable these ships to maintain an air defense bubble of radius 150 km around it. These ships form a part of the French carrier Battle group and provide primary air defense. They also have surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare capabilities. 8 Exocet Anti-ship missiles are carried behind the superstructure in angled box launchers. 4 torpedo tubes and an ASW helicopter form a potent defense against submarines. The gun armament consists of 2x76mm super rapid guns which can be used against air and surface targets and 2×20 mm cannons. The Sadral forms the CIWS component of the ship.

These highly capable destroyers are small in number and only 1 will be available for deployment at any point of time. But they will form the most important component of French naval operations.

7. Mistral Class (LHD)



Each ship can carry up to 16 heavy helicopters and one-third of a mechanised regiment, plus two LCAC hovercraft or four landing craft.

Mistral is the French Navy's first all-electric warship and is fitted with two Alstom 7MW electric azimuth pods.

Mistral and Tonnerre carry sufficient stores for the crew and 450 troops for 45 days between replenishments.

Mistral has the capacity to accommodate a Combined (multinational) Joint (multiservice) Task Force (CJTF).

The vessels have ample capacity for use as hospital ships or for humanitarian evacuation missions.

The Mistral Class is fitted with a high-performance communications suite, which makes the ship suitable for deployment as a command vessel. The ships also have the capacity to accommodate a combined (multinational) joint (multiservice) task force (CJTF).

6. Charles de Gaulle (Aircraft Carrier)



The Charles De Gaulle is a 38,000 ton, nuclear powered French aircraft carrier launched in May 1994. The ship operates a fleet of 40 Rafale M combat aircraft, the Super Etendard and three E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft. The ship also supports the AS 565 Panther and Dauphin helicopters. There are two lifts, measuring 19 x 13 m, which have a load capacity of 36 tons. The hangar has a floor area of 140 x 30 metres and a height 6.1 metres.

It accommodates 20 to 25 aircraft. The main deck consists of a main runway angled at 8.5 degrees to the ship's axis and an aircraft launch area forward of the island. The runway and the forward launch area are each equipped with a USN Type C13 catapult rated to handle aircraft up to 22 tonnes and capable of launching one aircraft per minute. The runway is 195 metres long and the whole deck measures 260 x 64 metres.

The ship's weapons are managed by a Senit Combat Management System, CMS Model 8. The system has the capacity to track up to 2,000 friendly and hostile targets. The weapon control system consists of two Sagem Vigy 105 optronic directors. The ship has two Sagem Vampir search and track systems. The ship is fitted with the Aster 15 surface-to-air missile launchers, Sylver vertical launch systems, installed on the edge of the deck, with two launchers (16 cells) on the starboard side forward of the bridge and two launchers on the port side aft of the bridge.

The ship has two six-cell Sadral launching systems for the Mistral missile positioned on the edges of the main deck about 45 metres (starboard side) and 36 metres (port side) aft of the Aster missile launchers. The ship is also equipped with eight Giat 20F2 guns and four decoy launchers are installed, two on either side of the ship firing chaff to 8 km and infra-red flares to a range of 3 km.

5. Leclerc (Main Battle Tank

In full details and clear pictures

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