Thales unveiled RapidStriker, a mobile air defense system built to protect maneuver forces against drones and helicopters while also providing ground fire support, on June 15, 2026, at Eurosatory 2026 in Paris.
Julien Assoun, Vice President Vehicles and Tactical Systems at Thales, said the system responds to a battlefield in which drones and loitering munitions have become a permanent threat and now account for a significant share of losses.
Low-cost rockets at the core
Thales positions RapidStriker around low-cost rocket munitions, a response to the growing imbalance between the cost of a drone and that of shooting it down.
The vehicle-mounted system combines 360-degree detection, automated fire control and a mix of effectors: 68 mm and 70 mm rockets, both guided and unguided, a small-caliber cannon and remotely operated munitions. Alongside its kinetic effectors, the system integrates Thales’ Eclipse electronic warfare jammer, giving the operator the option to disrupt a drone rather than engage it kinetically.
Thales says it can detect, identify, track, and neutralize a threat within seconds, with around 40 seconds from detection to engagement, across a range of 1-5 kilometers. The weapon management system is able to select the right response quickly to lower the operator workload. Two vehicles operating together could address up to four threats at once, according to the company.
Thales designed RapidStriker to fit any highly mobile combat vehicle and said a 10-to-15-ton class would suit it. The configuration shown at Eurosatory was mounted on the Bushmaster Utility. Thales lists possible integration into its ForceShield short-range air defense system, the close-in layer of the broader SkyDefender architecture.
Part of a wider Thales push at Eurosatory
RapidStriker links several announcements Thales made during the show. The company introduced the LGR275 Proxy, a 70 mm laser-guided rocket fitted with a proximity sensor and a warhead optimized for aerial targets. The munition is designed for surface-to-air and air-to-air use against Class 1 and Class 2 drones, detonating near a small target rather than relying on a direct hit. Thales’ laser-guided rockets have already been adopted as a lower-cost counter-drone effector elsewhere, including on French and Belgian fighters.
Thales also announced a partnership with Renault to industrialize the production of the Toutatis loitering munition in France, with manufacturing potentially starting in 2027 at 1,000 units per month in the first year, as part of Renault’s growing defense role.
Thales said RapidStriker’s elements have already been qualified individually, and that it plans to test the complete system by the end of 2026, with production expected in 2027.