France will supply Ukraine with Crotale air defense systems, - Ministry of Defense of country
France will hand over Crotale short-range anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMS) to Ukraine.
This was stated by the head of the French Ministry of Defense, Sebastian Lecornu, Censor.NET informs with reference to "Interfax-Ukraine".
"They will be especially useful in the fight against drones and air bombing," the Associated Press agency quotes the minister as saying.
He reminded that France has 12 batteries of these air defense systems, but did not specify how many of them will be sent to Ukraine. Lecornu also said that the Crotale air defense systems retired from the French armed forces will replace the more modern Mamba air defense systems. He explained that according to the plans, Ukraine will be able to deploy Crotale batteries in two months, during which the Ukrainian military will learn to use them.
In addition, the minister announced that up to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers will undergo training in French military units. For several weeks, they will be trained in combat, the use of French equipment, skills related to the rear and supply.
AP, in turn, explains that previously the French military trained the Ukrainians to use CAESAR self-propelled artillery systems, 18 of which Paris supplied to Ukraine.
Lecornu noted that there are discussions on the supply of six more CAESAR self-propelled guns, and, in addition, Paris is studying the Ukrainian request for the supply of rockets
Paris also allocated EUR100 million to the fund, which Ukraine can use at its own discretion for strikes against ground targets. The minister explained that the French military had previously placed an order for new CAESAR installations instead of those transferred to Ukraine. to spend on the purchase of something on the condition that France would be the supplier. In particular, an order was received by a French company that supplies pontoon bridges.
According to Lecorne, the French defense budget will reach EUR44 billion in 2023 - the highest level since the Second World War. The minister added that in 2017, when the first term of the presidency of Emmanuel Macron began, the size of the defense budget was EUR32.3 billion.
