90% of cannon barrels for Caesar, the wheeled self-propelled howitzer produced by Franco-German defense group KNDS, are currently being delivered to Ukraine, Le Monde reports. The Caesar is among the primary artillery systems used by the Ukrainian military. The rise in output reflects a major shift in French defense manufacturing, especially in the Bourges region in central France.
Bourges reindustrialized after long-term decline. Bourges lost nearly 3,000 industrial jobs between 1991 and 2001 due to site closures by GIAT, KNDS’s predecessor. Local officials such as Mayor Yann Galut and Bourges Plus president Irène Félix acknowledged the dramatic shift in fortunes. “We are living through an extraordinary turning point,” Galut told Le Monde.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, KNDS produced just two Caesar units per month, according to Le Monde. That number has since tripled to six, with a goal of reaching twelve monthly by the end of 2025. Additionally, KNDS has doubled production of 155 mm artillery shells at its La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin facility, targeting 100,000 units per year.
Additionally, Bourges-based facilities of another arms producer, MBDA, have significantly accelerated its output of Mistral and Aster anti-air missiles, which are also supplied to Ukraine.
Beyond MBDA and KNDS, major defense firms like Thales, Safran, Mecachrome, and Michelin have ramped up operations, supported by over 100 subcontractors across the region.
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