France Expands Arms Orders and Caesar ACS Production in 2023

France is signaling a major ramp-up in defense procurement, with the French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastien Lecornu, indicating at a Senate hearing that 2023 will see a substantial increase in orders for ammunition and missiles, especially for Caesar self-propelled artillery mounts (ACS). The plan reflects a broader shift in France’s defense posture and budgetary approach, as reported by BFMTV. The emphasis is on accelerating production and delivery timelines for key capabilities, ensuring that France can sustain higher readiness levels and longer-term operational tempo in the face of evolving security challenges. The parliament’s oversight is being informed by battlefield experiences from Ukraine, and the government states that the strategy will be implemented without waiting for a new military budget law to pass. The assessment underscores the importance of leveraging real-time experience to improve the resilience and effectiveness of France’s armed forces, both in Europe and beyond. The overarching goal is to maintain and strengthen deterrence while ensuring that French units can deploy with the firepower and precision demanded by modern combat scenarios, including long-range fires and rapid response capabilities. The approach also seeks to optimize industrial mobilization, drawing on French defense industry capabilities to sustain a higher cadence of orders and production while safeguarding the supply chain for essential components and munitions.