PARIS, June 15 (Reuters) - Renault Group will develop a military vehicle in partnership with defence technology company Thales, the carmaker said on Monday, expanding its projects to support European rearmament efforts.
The project draws on Renault's industrial know-how and Thales's secure communications technologies to make a multi-mission vehicle that can be produced quickly at optimum cost, said the automaker.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a shift in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald
Trump have led to a step up in investment by European countries in defence. Several European defence firms are looking to the auto sector for additional production capacity to ramp up output as they win a surge in orders.
Renault said previously it had responded to requests by France's defence ministry to contribute to military projects, including a plan to produce aerial drones with drone manufacturer Turgis Gaillard.
A prototype of the new vehicle, dubbed 4 TROOP, will be presented at the Eurosatory defence fair opening near Paris on Monday.
The 4x4 has a hybrid drivetrain and can operate on all types of terrain, said Renault, supporting reconnaissance, troop coordination, sensitive site and area surveillance and the deployment of drones and unmanned ground vehicles.
It can also be used to power certain types of electrical equipment in the field through its Vehicle-to-Load function.
The first demonstrator of its drone under development with Turgis Gaillard is set to fly before the end of this year, Renault CEO Francois Provost told Reuters last week.
"That's also the advantage of the automotive industry: we don't take 30 years to do something, we'll do it in 12 months," he said in an interview.
Renault plans to assemble the drones at its Le Mans plant, which specializes in automotive chassis, with a production capacity of up to 600 units per month.
Renault is also working with Belgian military equipment company John Cockerill on projects that are currently in early stages.
(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume, Gus Trompiz and Dominique Patton; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
