General Stéphane Canitrot: Role, Drones and Strategy at the Ministry of the Armed Forces

Can you introduce yourself and explain your role within the Ministry of the Armed Forces? 

I am Major General Stéphane CANITROT. I joined the Special Military School of Saint-Cyr as an officer cadet in 1988, and for the past 38 years I have alternated between operational units, staff positions and training roles. Over the years, I have developed expertise in operational logistics through the various positions I have held, both in mainland France and during overseas deployments. Throughout my different assignments, I have also become highly aware of drone-related issues. 

Since summer 2023, I have served as Deputy General for Operations to the General Officer commanding the South-West Defence and Security Zone, and as Commander of the South-West Land Zone, whose geographical scope corresponds exactly to the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. As part of my duties—which include overseeing Operation Sentinelle and the protection of military sites—I maintain a constant focus on the use of drones and counter-drone measures. 

It was therefore natural that, in the absence of General GROËN, I opened UAV Show 2025. In the same context, on 20 March 2026, I co-organised with the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region a tripartite meeting on drones involving the armed forces, the regional authority and industry stakeholders, in order to facilitate the alignment of supply and demand and to help evolve a highly constrained regulatory framework.  
 

In the current context, what role do drones play in the operations and strategies of the Ministry of the Armed Forces? 

Today, all conflicts involve drones: this represents a profound shift in the way war is conducted. No conflict can be won without drones. 

Drones are omnipresent. They enable long-range strikes, jamming, surveillance and saturation. The most advanced systems can also serve as radio relays. In the air, on land, on and under the sea—they are everywhere. 

They have a strong psychological impact on both armed forces and civilian populations. They also exert economic pressure on adversaries due to a highly favourable cost-effectiveness ratio. 

In their various forms, capabilities and uses, drones are now indispensable complements to military assets, both in domestic missions and overseas operations. 

The widespread use of drones in conflict theatres requires the management of armament programmes based on short, agile and low-cost cycles, making full use of capabilities derived from civilian applications for the benefit of our armed forces. 

Drones also complement longer-term programmes aimed at fully integrating drone capabilities into entire components of the armed forces and transforming them, independently of immediate operational contexts. 
 

What are the main challenges today related to the development and use of drones, both technologically and operationally? 

The increasing use of drones in conflicts requires us to move faster and further in this field—to equip our forces, protect against drone threats, and maintain a cutting-edge defence industry. 

In response to the evolving strategic context, the priority given to drones in the updated Military Programming Law (LPM) pursues three objectives: rapidly expanding drone capabilities within the forces, protecting against drone threats, and strengthening drone production capacities. 

The effort is significant: 

An additional €2 billion for 2026–2030, bringing the total to €8.4 billion for drones over 2024–2030, and 

An additional €1.6 billion for 2026–2030, bringing the total to €6.9 billion for air defence and counter-drone systems over 2024–2030. 

The strategic context and evolving forms of conflict require a balance between highly advanced, decisive weapon systems—essential for victory—and large quantities of attrition and saturation capabilities (drones and robots across all domains, remotely operated munitions), produced rapidly and at low cost. 
 

Why has the Ministry of the Armed Forces chosen to participate in UAV Show, and what do you expect from this event? 

UAV Show is Europe’s leading exhibition for the drone sector. The 2025 edition brought together more than 4,000 professionals, representing a 50% increase compared to the previous edition, and over 100 exhibitors. Among them, nearly 75% collaborate with the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans or with defence industry partners. 

It is therefore only natural for the armed forces to take part in this event. As the exhibition takes place in Bordeaux, the presence of the armed forces in Nouvelle-Aquitaine was an obvious choice. 
 

In the longer term, what is the Ministry of the Armed Forces’ vision for the role of drones in future conflicts and missions? 

Preparing and anticipating are at the very core of our armed forces. The programmes we are launching and the actions we are initiating today will shape the short, medium and long term. 

Hybrid modes of action and asymmetric warfare are likely to remain defining features in the future, and we are fully taking this into account in our work.