Emmanuel Macron has announced that several European countries will jointly purchase Mistral surface-to-air missiles.

“This is a great example of sovereign cooperation between Europeans in a very relevant and insufficiently covered range,” Emmanuel Macron welcomed this Monday at the end of a conference on air defense in Paris.

France, Estonia, Hungary, Belgium and Cyprus will jointly buy Mistral short-range surface-to-air missiles, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday, calling for a strengthening of the European defense pillar.

The five countries have signed a letter of intent regarding the acquisition of “several hundred Mistral missiles,” the presidential adviser noted, stressing that this is “the first case of joint procurement of this type of item.”

Entering service with the French Army in 1988, the Mistral, developed by European arms group MBDA, can hit targets up to six kilometers away.

Synchronize European levels

When Berlin launched the “European Air Shield Initiative” (Euro Sky Shield) in October, it brought together today 17 European countries, but not France or Italy. German, American and Israeli equipment.

The program relies on the German Iris-T anti-aircraft systems for short range, the American Patriot for medium range and the US-Israeli Arrow-3 for long range.

France, for its part, wants to continue to bet on its own medium-range surface-to-air defense system, SAMP/T MAMBA, while stressing the problems posed by the German plan.