Thales and Renault Group have set out a plan to lift Toutatis loitering-munition production from roughly 100 to 150 units a year to about 10,000, using automotive industrial methods rather than incremental output gains. The partnership, announced at Eurosatory in Paris, pairs Thales’s defence design and current production role with Renault’s manufacturing scale-up expertise to redesign the weapon for volume production in France.
The target is a revised Toutatis configuration by mid-2027, with serial production by the end of 2027. Thales says the 10 km, 30-minute system is aimed at light-armoured targets and that export demand will likely drive the business case. The deal shows how fast European strike-drone capacity is moving onto automotive ground.