PARIS, France — The French defence procurement agency (Direction Générale de l’Armement – DGA) exercised a contract option with industrial partners KNDS France and Delair to procure an additional tranche of MX-10 DAMOCLES short-range loitering munitions for the French Armed Forces.
The follow-on procurement scales production capacity for France’s first industrialized remotely operated loitering munition system. Following initial contract signatures in July 2024 and operational deliveries commencing in December 2025, the order consolidates the MX-10 DAMOCLES as the primary unit-level loitering munition for both the French Army (Armée de Terre) and French Navy (Marine Nationale). Operating via a VTOL quadcopter architecture, the system is purpose-built for rapid deployment (< 5 minutes), real-time optical/thermal target tracking, and point-detonating kinetic strikes in high-threat, electronic warfare (EW) contested environments.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: KNDS / DELAIR MX-10 DAMOCLES LOITERING MUNITION 
* Developers & Industrial Lead: KNDS France (Warhead/Safety Architecture) & Delair (UAV Airframe/Flight Control Software)
* Procurement Agency & End-Users: DGA / French Army (Armée de Terre) & French Navy (Marine Nationale)
* Airframe & Architecture Profile:
* Platform Type: Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Quadcopter
* Weight & Wingspan: Total system mass ~3.5 kg | Overall frame/wingspan ~80 cm
* Deployment Timeline: Transition from transport container to flight-ready status in under 5 minutes
* Kinematics & Operational Range:
* Maximum Operational Radius: 10 km (Line-of-Sight data link)
* Mission Endurance: Up to 40 minutes loitering flight time
* Navigation Capabilities: Resilient flight controller capable of operating in GNSS-denied / EW-contested environments
* Ordnance, Fuzing & Safety Mechanism:
* Warhead Payload: 550 g explosive/incendiary fragmentation payload
* Engagement Targets: Dismounted infantry squads, unarmored soft skin vehicles, and light protected armored vehicles
* Operator Safety Suite: Advanced Safety Armament Device (SAD) with point-detonating fuze; enables full mission abort capability to return to loiter mode if engagement conditions degrade
* Sensor & Tactical Data Link: Real-time high-definition electro-optical video feed maintained through impact
TIMES OF DEFENCE ASSESSMENT:
The DGA’s follow-on contract for the MX-10 DAMOCLES underscores France’s commitment to rapidly scaling organic loitering munition stockpiles across squad and platoon levels. Modern high-intensity conflicts demonstrate that traditional indirect fire assets often lack the speed and real-time terminal adjustment required to engage fleeting, highly mobile targets in contested littoral and urban terrain.
By pairing Delair’s GNSS-denied quadcopter flight control with KNDS’s insensitive, highly safe warhead architecture, the French military secures a low-cost, rapidly deployable precision strike capability. Operating over a 10 km radius with a 40-minute loiter envelope, the MX-10 DAMOCLES effectively shortens the sensor-to-shooter loop for French infantry and naval landing teams while mitigating operator risk through its fail-safe abort and return-to-loiter mechanisms.
