FN Herstal wins contract to produce small calibre ammunition in and for France

From 2029 onwards, small calibre ammunition will once again be produced in France, thirty years after the last production ceased. The contract for this has been awarded to an industrial consortium led by the Belgian FN Herstal. This was announced by the French Ministry of Defence on Wednesday.
The tender process dates back to April of last year. The winning consortium consists of FN Herstal, Cheditte, and Nobelsport, the ministry confirmed. They will produce 75 million rounds annually, with a calibre of 5.56 mm for assault rifles and 7.62 mm for certain machine guns and sniper rifles used by the French army.

The production will take place in Clérieux, in the Drôme region (South of France), and will create around twenty jobs. Financial details of the contract have not been disclosed.

For about ten years, there has been discussion about bringing ammunition production back to France. Initially, authorities believed that there was enough stock worldwide and that domestic production would not be economically viable. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have convinced the French of the importance of having their own production capacity.