Rafale Fighter Adds Cheap Drone Killing Rocket To Its Armory
AI Analysis
France has successfully integrated 68mm laser-guided rockets onto its Rafale fighter jets, creating a low-cost counter-drone capability (LADAC) in under 8 months. This development, spurred by the need to avoid using expensive missiles against inexpensive drones, follows similar initiatives by the US and UK. Initial operational capability is expected this summer.
Key Takeaways
- The LADAC program utilizes 68mm Aculeus-LG rockets launched from Thales Telson JF12 pods, guided by the Rafale’s RBE2 radar and Talios pod.
- The French Air and Space Force identified a critical need for low-cost interceptors after expending numerous MICA missiles defending against Iranian drones in the UAE.
- Development and integration were completed rapidly, demonstrating France's responsiveness to emerging threats.
- The system is potentially exportable to other Rafale operators and could be adapted for other combat aircraft.
- The US Air Force and Royal Air Force have already deployed similar laser-guided rocket systems (APKWS) for counter-UAS operations, highlighting a global trend.
Why It Matters
This development signals a shift in air defense strategy towards layered, cost-effective solutions for countering the increasing drone threat. The rapid deployment of LADAC demonstrates France’s ability to quickly adapt to evolving battlefield conditions and provides a model for other nations facing similar challenges. This will likely lead to increased demand for similar systems and further innovation in low-cost interceptor technologies.
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France has conducted live-fire tests of laser-guided rockets from its Rafale fighter, adding a low-cost anti-drone capability to the jet. Following the United States and the United Kingdom, this reflects a broader trend in modern air warfare, as air forces increasingly recognize that they need layered, cost-effective intercept options rather than relying exclusively on expensive missiles.
Today, the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA), the French government defense procurement and technology agency, announced the successful integration of the 68mm laser-guided rockets on the Rafale. The tests began in February. The DGA added that the integration work was conducted together with the French Air and Space Force’s Centre d’expertise aérienne militaire (CEAM, the French aerospace research and test center), supported by Dassault Aviation and Thales. The program is known as Lutte anti-drone sur avion de combat (LADAC, or anti-drone capability for combat aircraft).
The Defence Procurement Agency has successfully completed integration testing of 68 mm laser-guided rockets on the Rafale fighter jet. The time between the contract being awarded for this new capability and initial operational capability being achieved was less than 8 months. pic.twitter.com/rR2Nij9EzY
While LADAC is initially intended for French Rafales, flown by the air force and navy, it could also be provided to export Rafale customers, and potentially other combat jets.
Last October, the Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force, Gen. Jérôme Bellanger, told a parliamentary hearing that there was a need to provide laser-guided rockets for the Rafale and/or the Mirage 2000D RMV, to counter long-range one-way attack drones, such as the Iranian Shahed-136 and the Russian Geran series.
DGA official to me at Paris 2025 – “We absolutely have to start using rockets for the counter-UAS mission, because we cannot keep using our high-value missiles in this role. We don't want to use our high-value missiles, such as the MICA." https://t.co/oEWRyOyF3W
“Regarding airborne anti-drone operations, it is not sustainable to use MICA air-to-air missiles costing over a million euros to shoot down a drone worth a few thousand dollars,” Bellanger said. “We must develop our own low-cost firing capabilities or adapt our gun fire-control systems,” he added.
The Chief of Staff of the Air Force suggested that off-the-shelf solutions would most likely be used.
In the event, a primarily French solution has been adopted.
This involves 68mm rockets with laser guidance, loaded in 12-round Thales Telson JF12 rocket pods. These are used in conjunction with the Rafale’s RBE2 radar, which has undergone modifications for the role, as well as the Talios pod, used for target tracking and laser designation.
The rocket itself is understood to be the Aculeus-LG, which has a stated range of 3.7 miles.
Head of the DGA, Patrick Pailloux, told the National Assembly yesterday that integrating rockets onto the Rafale for the C-UAS role is now ongoing and will be ready for operational fielding "this summer". @JanesINTEL story from myself and @JakOSpades to come… https://t.co/V4DTHM2jkd
Development of the LADAC capability was begun last December 31 as a matter of urgency.
By the end of February, French Rafales were protecting the airspace of the United Arab Emirates against Iranian drone attacks during Operation Epic Fury. In the process, they fired several dozen MICA IR/EM missiles in only a few weeks.
French Dassault Rafale fighter jet intercepting an Iranian Shahed/Geran-type long-range strike drone with an air-to-air missile (presumably MICA-EM/IR) over Erbil Governorate in northern Iraq this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/lbM2xJ2TBb
📍 Proche et Moyen-Orient | Retour sur les engagements des moyens 🇫🇷 face aux menaces aériennes 💥 Protection des intérêts français dans la zone et application des accords de défense 🎯 Les armées 🇫🇷 maintiennent une posture défensive active, en coordination étroite avec… pic.twitter.com/jk8OZbLEPm
In April, the French parliament was informed that a study was underway to equip the Rafale with rocket pods. The same month, unofficial imagery appeared showing a dedicated test Rafale carrying a pair of JF12 pods while flying from Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, home of the DGA.
FINALLY !A French Rafale seen taking off from Istres air base with a rocket pod under its wing, most probably in order to test a low cost solution for drone hunting mission.📸 via @Bruno_Aviation https://t.co/uYvZRFwwuS pic.twitter.com/U61V9d4gCD
As of April, it was suggested that the capability could be ready to be fielded this summer. This target will be achieved, with the LADAC capability rolled out to French Air and Space Force Rafales by the end of the month.
At this point, it’s unclear if the Rafales will also have their onboard 30mm cannons specifically modified for anti-drone work, as Bellanger had previously suggested. This would involve adaptation of the gun fire-control system to mitigate the risk posed by debris from the destroyed drones. As we have discussed many times in the past, firing a fighter’s gun against a small, low, and slow-moving target is inherently dangerous, due to a combination of speed and engagement dynamics, the risk of collision, shrapnel and other debris, plus the increased chances of collateral damage on the ground.
The U.S. military took the lead in integrating laser-guided rockets on combat aircraft for anti-drone purposes.
The laser-guided 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rocket with air-to-air capability has now been cleared for use by U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16C, and A-10 combat jets, and other types, like the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, are expected to receive it too.
In 2019, TWZ was first to report that the U.S. Air Force had begun to look at using APKWS as an air-to-air weapon against drones and cruise missiles, when it conducted a test of the weapon in that role from an F-16C. The first reports of the capability being used in combat came in 2024, when U.S. Air Force F-16s began using the rockets to shoot down drones launched by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Iran, as TWZ was again first to report.
Since then, U.S. Air Force F-15Es and F-16s have repeatedly called upon the rockets to deal with Iranian drone and missile attacks in the Middle East. In particular, the rocket-armed fighters were very actively involved in defending Israel from Iranian drones and missiles. The same encounters saw F-15E crews running out of missiles when faced by large barrages of drones and missiles, a problem that laser-guided rockets can help address.
U.S. Fighter aircraft shoot down Iran-backed Houthi one-way-attack drones with AGR-20 FALCO Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) Laser Guided 2.75" Rockets.#HouthisAreTerrorists pic.twitter.com/bDoVnKwotc
The Eurofighter Typhoon became the next aircraft to add the air-to-air optimized variant of the laser-guided APKWS rocket to its armament options.
At the Paris Air Show in June 2025, Eurofighter CEO Jorge Tamarit Degenhardt confirmed that the counter-drone mission was of growing importance for Typhoon customers and that he “needs to now have that conversation” with Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom — the four Eurofighter partner nations that are responsible for developing, building, and sustaining the aircraft.
The U.K. Royal Air Force announced in May of this year that its Typhoons were now equipped with APKWS, “significantly enhancing their ability to counter emerging threats during operations in the Middle East.”
Laser-guided rockets of all kinds offer some significant benefits for the counter-drone role, compared with traditional air-to-air missiles. Their performance parameters make them especially suitable for bringing down relatively steady flying, non-reactionary, low-performance targets, including drones and subsonic cruise missiles.
They also bring a major increase in ‘magazine depth,’ with each pod carrying several rounds, taking up a weapons pylon that would otherwise normally be loaded with just one air-to-air missile.
Above all, however, the requirement for these weapons has been driven by the huge mismatch in cost between the target and air-to-air missiles that would otherwise be used for the role. In a French context, a single MICA round reportedly costs around $2 million, significantly more than the latest variants of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), which cost around $1 million each.
Meanwhile, a Shahed drone might come with a unit cost of around $50,000, as we have discussed in the past.
The cost of the Aculeus-LG is unclear, but is likely in the same region as the equivalent APKWS. Here, the laser guidance section costs between $15,000 and $20,000, with only a few thousand dollars more needed to provide the rocket motor and warhead.
It seems all but certain that the French Rafales will not be the only ones to get the new weapon.
There is a large Rafale operating community in the Middle East, with Qatar already flying them and the United Arab Emirates due to receive them soon. Both of these and others could benefit from these capabilities. Since these rockets were also eyed for the Mirage 2000 in the past, Ukrainian Mirages could also be a candidate for integration; the Ukrainian Air Force already uses APKWS on its F-16s.
With future conflicts likely to feature large salvos of one-way attack drones and cruise missiles, this type of capability is likely to become a more regular feature on modern combat aircraft.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
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