Reports have circulated worldwide claiming that France is opposing EU plans to procure British Storm Shadow cruise missiles for Ukraine. Yet the credibility of this claim raises questions, given that France is itself one of the missile’s manufacturers.
According to The Telegraph, France is opposing the simplification of procedures for purchasing weapons from the United Kingdom to meet Ukraine’s needs. The key argument is that funds from the European loan mechanism, backed by frozen russian assets, should be allocated exclusively to the European defense industrial base.
Read more: UK Sends New Batch of Storm Shadow Cruise Missiles to Ukraine for Strikes Inside russia
Storm Shadow/SCALP mounted on a Su-24M bomber of the Ukrainian Air Force / Photo credit: Air Command South
Within the EU, a procurement framework is being proposed under which Ukraine’s requests for weapons would be assessed against several criteria. First, the feasibility of fulfilling the request through Ukraine’s own defense industry would be considered, followed by European manufacturers. British suppliers, and potentially Canada and other EU partners, would come third, while the United States would be placed fourth.
Overall, in 2025 Ukraine requires weapons and ammunition worth approximately €24 billion that cannot be produced in Europe, a category that includes long-range missiles. In addition to improving Ukraine’s ability to meet its military needs, preference for the United Kingdom is also linked to London’s declared readiness to deploy troops to Ukraine, unlike the United States.
Patriot PAC-3 MSE missile launch / Photo credit: US DoD
From the perspective of Defense Express, it is worth noting that France’s opposition to arms procurement outside the EU is well known and has surfaced before, even several years ago when discussions focused solely on ammunition. This stance is partly driven by a desire to further involve France’s domestic defense industry. At the same time, it reflects an effort to achieve greater regional autonomy from the United States, a goal that is difficult to realize and would likely require at least a decade.
At the same time, the situation surrounding the British Storm Shadow cruise missile is particularly noteworthy, as it is essentially the same weapon as the French SCALP. While there are some differences in software, production is otherwise largely joint.
SCALP-EG cruise missile under the wing of a Ukrainian Su-24M bomber aircraft / Archive photo credit: Ukrainian Air Force Command
Moreover, both countries are working together to increase output of this long-range weapon. This naturally raises the question of why France would seek to block procurement under a program in which it is itself a participant and manufacturer.
One possible explanation is that final assembly lines exist on both sides of the English Channel, in Stevenage in the UK and Selles-Saint-Denis in France. In theory, France could insist that orders be placed only at the French facility. However, both production sites belong to MBDA, which makes the practicality of such a demand questionable.
Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missile / Photo credit: Sébastien Lecornu
A closer reading of The Telegraph article suggests that it is primarily about France opposing the simplification of procurement conditions for British suppliers in general. This aligns with Paris’s previously stated policy regarding defense procurement outside the EU.
Storm Shadow is mentioned only as an example of a weapon identified as necessary for Ukraine. As a result, the article somewhat stretches the argument by implying that opposition to new procurement rules automatically equates to opposition to additional British cruise missiles, even though, as noted earlier, these missiles are jointly produced with France.
It is also important to note that so far only France and the United Kingdom have supplied Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles to Ukraine. No other country has yet joined the project, even in terms of financing or procurement for its own armed forces.
Overall, France’s insistence on restricting arms procurement for Ukraine exclusively to EU-made systems appears impractical, given that many key capabilities are not produced within Europe, including multiple launch rocket systems comparable to HIMARS. At the same time, this obstacle is likely to be overcome, as significant funding will still flow to the European defense industry.