© Reuters
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday it could order 1,000 Mistral air defense missiles worth around 500 million euros ($545.6 million) as part of a joint deal with four other European countries.
President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France – along with Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia and Hungary – had agreed to make the purchases.
Macron added that he had made some progress convincing some of France’s European Union allies to consider a more domestic defense strategy, in contrast to efforts led by Germany to jointly purchase air defense systems from outside Europe.
Mistral air defense missiles manufactured by MBDA. Airbus and BAE Systems (OTC:) each own a 37.5% stake in MBDA, while Italy’s Leonardo holds a 25% stake.
($1 = 0.9165 euros)