France unveils low-cost missile shield to guard ships and sites from drone swarms

Naval Group has completed sea trials of Rampart, a cost-effective missile defense system designed to protect warships and static targets from swarms of inexpensive drones. The launcher carries four modules of 20 laser-guided 68 mm rockets, each equipped with proximity fuses and a range of up to 6 km, allowing a total load of 80 projectiles on a platform weighing about four tonnes. Tests in the Mediterranean, including a French Navy counter-drone drill off Toulon, showed successful engagement of both aerial drones and unguided rockets.

By using rockets that cost roughly the same as the drones they defeat, Rampart achieves a much better cost-to-kill ratio than traditional interceptors such as Patriot missiles. The system can be installed on corvettes, ground-based sites protecting airports or military bases, and on the Sirenha unmanned surface vessel, while future trials will explore integration with the UAE-made SkyKnight missile, which reaches up to 10 km.