Renault to build Chorus strike drones in France under €1 billion deal

Renault is preparing to manufacture a new long-range military drone, Chorus, in France under a partnership with defense company Turgis Gaillard The move could lead to a contract worth around €1 billion over 10 years with the country’s defense procurement agency, the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA). 

French outlet L’Usine Nouvelle reports that Chorus is a multi-role long-range loitering munition designed for both strike and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

The project is part of a drone initiative [Pacte drones aériens de défense – ed. note] launched by France in June 2024 to accelerate the domestic drone industrial base and better align armed forces requirements with high-volume industrial capacity.

In his 2026 New Year’s address to the French Armed Forces, President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged that France is “late” in the field and needs to move faster in view of rapid innovation and mass production observed in Ukraine. 

Chorus loitering munition 

Chorus is described as a relatively large drone, about 10 meters (33 feet) long with an 8-meter (26-foot) wingspan, capable of speeds around 400 km/h (250 mph) and operating at altitudes up to 5,000 meters (16,000 feet).

The system is conceived as a relatively low-cost, expendable drone, broadly similar in employment concept to Iran’s Shahed family used extensively by Russia in Ukraine. Turgis Gaillard reportedly developed the initial Chorus design before teaming with Renault to prepare the system for mass production.

France is not alone in exploring such concepts. In the US, SpektreWorks’ LUCAS program follows a similar logic, fielding a Shahed-style loitering munition adapted for Western production.

Automotive-style drone production in France 

Renault’s plant in Le Mans (Credit: Renault Group)Renault’s role is to adapt Chorus for series production using automotive methods to simplify the design and reduce costs, including the use of materials and assembly techniques already employed in car manufacturing.

A dedicated line at Renault’s Le Mans plant will assemble the airframe, with between 100 and 200 employees volunteering from a workforce of about 1,800. The line will be activated based on orders placed by the DGA, with output potentially reaching up to 600 drones per month, according to BFMTV. 

The company’s Ampère factory in Cléon will manufacture and modify the internal combustion engines that power the drones. Renault will not be responsible for the military payloads or mission equipment, which will be supplied separately. 

The program is largely publicly funded, with around 10 drones to be delivered to the DGA by summer 2026 for concept validation. If trials are successful, the parties could sign a 10-year agreement valued at roughly €1 billion. 

From concept discussions to concrete industrial pairing 

The move follows earlier public discussion about using automotive capacity to scale drone production, including approaches to Renault highlighted by the French government as part of its support to Ukraine.

In June 2025, Renault confirmed talks with the French Ministry of the Armed Forces about a potential drone production project that could involve cooperation with a French defense company and the forward production of drones in Ukraine.

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French carmaker Renault in talks to produce military drones in Ukraine

In September 2023, Turgis Gaillard reached an agreement with the Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov Company to produce a localized version of its upcoming MALE drone, the Aarok, tailored to the needs of the Ukrainian armed forces.The post Renault to build Chorus strike drones in France under €1 billion deal appeared first on AeroTime.

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