Ukraine, France discuss air defense, mirage munitions, interceptor drones

Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara and French Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Catherine Vautrin discussed further strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses, including the supply of munitions for Mirage aircraft, countering jet-powered Shahed drones, and developing interceptor drones.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported this on its website, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.

“Ukraine needs additional capabilities to counter air threats. Support from our partners is critically important in this regard,” Khmara said.

During the conversation, the sides discussed further steps to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, including the supply of munitions for Mirage aircraft. Khmara thanked France for the prompt delivery of additional means to counter aerial targets and for other important support for Ukraine.

“Ukraine is interested both in additional supplies of systems that have already proven effective and in developing new solutions. One of the priorities is low-cost interceptor drones,” Khmara added.

The sides also paid particular attention to countering jet-powered Shahed drones. In particular, Ukraine and France are already working to find effective solutions for destroying such drones.

Khmara and Vautrin also discussed the implementation of joint defense industry projects and the Freyja anti-ballistic initiative. The Ukrainian defense minister thanked France for its consistent support and readiness to further strengthen the defense partnership.

As reported, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are already testing four promising interceptor drone models on the front line to counter Russian jet-powered UAVs, while around 10 more manufacturers are testing their own designs.

Photo: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine