France proposes increasing defense budget to €63.4 billion in 2027 — Breaking Defense

France proposes increasing defense spending to €63.4 billion in the 2027 fiscal year — €6.5 billion more than in 2026. French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin announced this at the opening of the Euronaval defense exhibition in Paris, Breaking Defense reports.

According to her, the draft budget was submitted to the parliament and the Senate in October. The document has not yet been adopted: it is being discussed in the French parliament, with a vote scheduled for November.

Maritime drones and munitions

Vautrin said that the development of naval capabilities would be an important part of France's course toward strategic autonomy and the ability to make decisions and act independently.

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France is funding a maritime drone program intended to accelerate the integration of autonomous systems with crewed ships. The French defense procurement agency, DGA, divided future procurements into three categories: tactical drones for escort and protection, long-endurance systems for intelligence and surveillance, and specialized drones, which partly include remotely controlled maritime munitions. The program's total budget has not been publicly disclosed.

Mine countermeasure systems

In summer, the DGA also ordered twelve surface and underwater unmanned systems for France's future mine countermeasures program, SLAM-F. They are intended to strengthen the French Navy's capabilities in uncrewed mine countermeasures, which the agency considers necessary to guarantee freedom of navigation in the current geopolitical context.

Separately, Vautrin said that Paris continues to seek to prioritize the procurement of systems of European origin. She mentioned cooperation with Sweden in the missile, aviation, and naval sectors, as well as engagement with Belgium and the Netherlands on new mine countermeasure vessels.