France plans 4.5% defence budget increase for 2021

The French Armed Forces Ministry presented a EUR49.7 billion (USD58.3 billion) draft 2021 defence budget to parliament on 28 September. The budget request would increase defence spending by 4.5%, compared to 2020 and 22% since 2017, and includes EUR22.3 billion for procurement, EUR12.3 billion for salaries, EUR8.5 billion for pensions, and EUR4.6 billion for operating costs.

France is set to receive nearly 100 Griffon armoured vehicles in 2020, to be followed by 157 more in 2021. (Armée de Terre)

During a press conference held at the ministry on 30 September, the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), the French procurement agency, and the three armed service branches presented the main equipment delivered in 2020 and the status of ongoing programmes. In 2021, the DGA plans to order 30 H160M helicopters (21 for the army, 8 for the navy, and 1 for the air force), 120 upgraded Véhicule Blindé Léger (VBL) light reconnaissance vehicles, 12,000 HK416F rifles, one Frégate de Défense et d'Intervention (FDI) frigate, 45 Mer-Mer 40 Block 3C upgrade kits for Exocet anti-ship missiles, 367 MICA NG air-to-air missiles, 150 MICA NG training missiles, and 13 Syracuse IV satellite communications ground stations. The demonstration phase of the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) should to be launched in 2021.