FN Herstal Wins Landmark French Army Ammunition Contract
Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal has been awarded a landmark 15-year contract to produce small-calibre ammunition for the French Army, ending France’s 27-year dependency on foreign suppliers and cementing the Walloon company’s position as a cornerstone of European defense manufacturing. The contract, announced on 15 July by the French Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), will see the production of 75 million rounds per year of 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm ammunition starting in 2029, as RTBF first reported.
A Strategic Victory for French Sovereignty
France ceased domestic production of small-calibre ammunition in 1999 with the closure of the Giat Industries plant in Le Mans. For over two decades, the DGA maintained that foreign supply was sufficient and that domestic production was not economically viable. A 2015 parliamentary report challenged this position, and a 2017 initiative to revive production was later cancelled. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fundamentally shifted the strategic calculus, exposing the risks of supply chain dependency.
As Opex360/Zone Militaire detailed, former DGA chief Emmanuel Chiva acknowledged in December 2024 that the agency had revised its position: “On small-calibre ammunition, we now have an updated position. A few years ago, we said: ‘Move along, nothing to see, we don’t need a national production line.’ But we re-examined the question because the world is changing.”
The French Ministry of Armed Forces stated that the project “is part of a logic aimed at permanently covering both the need for training and the capacity to support a high-intensity conflict.”
The Winning Consortium
The contract was awarded to a consortium led by FN Herstal (Belgium) alongside its French subsidiaries Cheditte and Nobelsport — all part of the FN Browning Group. The European tender was launched by the DGA in April 2025, and the consortium’s offer was ranked highest among competing bids.
According to La Libre Belgique, the competitive process was initially seen as a setback for FN Herstal, which had hoped for a direct award following a 2024 bilateral agreement between Belgium and France on ammunition cooperation. The tender ultimately validated FN Herstal’s offer as the best-ranked.
Production Details and Employment Impact
Under the terms of the contract, all metal components will be manufactured at FN Herstal’s site in Herstal, Belgium, where a new production building is already under construction. Assembly, powder filling, and packaging will take place at a new facility in Clérieux, Drôme, in southern France, creating approximately 20 jobs.
Henry de Harenne, Communications Director of the FN-Browning Group, explained to RTBF: “This is a 15-year partnership aimed at re-establishing a sovereign production capacity in France. It guarantees jobs in Herstal. It follows in the line of the 20-year partnership signed in 2024 with Belgium for the production of all Belgian ammunition. That’s why we invested €100 million and created around a hundred jobs.”
The formal signing of the contract is expected during summer 2026, subject to the completion of public procurement formalities.
Broader European Defense Context
The contract comes amid a broader European push to rebuild defense industrial capacity following the war in Ukraine. European countries have significantly increased defense spending, and the EU has promoted joint procurement and domestic production to reduce dependency on non-European suppliers, notably the United States.
As The Brussels Times noted, the deal also deepens the already strong defense industrial relationship between France and Belgium, exemplified by the CaMo (Capacité Motorisée) partnership, under which Belgium has purchased French Griffon and Jaguar armored vehicles and Caesar howitzers.
Julien Compère, CEO of FN Browning Group, welcomed the decision as “proof of the confidence that the French authorities place in FN Browning,” according to L-Post.
Analysis and Forward Look
The contract represents a strategic victory on multiple fronts. For France, it ends a 27-year gap in sovereign small-calibre ammunition production capacity — a vulnerability starkly exposed by the Ukraine war. The DGA has indicated that production will eventually be expanded to include French-sourced sub-components such as powders and primers, further deepening domestic capabilities.
For Belgium, the deal guarantees long-term employment at the historic Herstal site, which has been producing firearms since 1889. FN Browning Group recently reported record financial results, surpassing €1 billion in revenue, and this contract provides a stable production pipeline extending to 2041.
The contract also serves as a model for European defense cooperation: two EU member states building sovereign capacity through cross-border industrial partnership rather than relying on extra-European suppliers. With production set to begin in 2029, the coming years will see the construction of the Clérieux facility and the gradual ramp-up to full capacity of 75 million rounds annually — a significant step toward European strategic autonomy in defense manufacturing.