The French Ministry of the Armed Forces has increased its procurement of Harmattan AI’s Sonora short-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems, placing an order for 5,000 additional units.
This expanded order follows the system’s deployment during the Orion exercise in 2026 and comes under a renewed Program of Record agreement with the French Directorate General of Armament (DGA).
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Harmattan AI, a French defence prime and France’s DGA had originally entered into a contract in June 2025, resulting in the delivery of 1,000 Sonora systems within six months.
After the Sonora system was evaluated in military exercises, the DGA decided to quintuple its order to support the French military’s future autonomous uncrewed operations across various units.
The Sonora system features a flight time exceeding 40 minutes and can be prepared for take-off in under one minute, according to Harmattan AI.
Weighing less than 1.8kg, the system has an operational range of 2km.
Harmattan AI said it has set up production facilities in the Paris region to fulfil the increased demand for autonomous systems.
The facility is capable of manufacturing 10,000 units per month. This capability places Harmattan AI as one of the leaders in manufacturing uncrewed defence systems in Western Europe.
In January this year, Harmattan AI raised $200m in a Series B funding round led by Dassault Aviation.
