France has decided to withdraw from a joint project of a number of European countries to create a Eurodrone drone worth about 7 billion euros.
According to the La Tribune, the reason for this step was a whole range of problems — accumulated delays, budget overruns and a reduction in national allocations for defense.
As a source in the Ministry of the Armed Forces of the Fifth Republic told the agency, at present Paris has already notified the program partners — Germany, Italy and Spain — of its intention to withdraw from it.
The article notes that Airbus is the main contractor of the project, and Dassault Aviation and Leonardo are the key subcontractors. The entire Eurodrone program has recently been actively criticized for the "obesity" of the design and non-compliance with market expectations.
Sources in the French Senate confirmed this information, noting that the platform turned out to be twice as heavy as the American equivalent of the MQ-9 Reaper, which affects its efficiency and cost.
The official notification of Paris' withdrawal from the Eurodrone project is expected in the coming days, although the Ministry of War has not yet confirmed this unequivocally.
Meanwhile, the French media confidently write that the decision has been made. It is due to the need to optimize spending in the face of budget constraints.
Earlier, EADaily reported that French President Emmanuel Macron threatened to dissolve parliament if MPs support the opposition's initiative on a vote of no confidence in the government.