The French Ministry of Defense has thoroughly analyzed the real war experience in Ukraine and, in addition to transforming old anti-aircraft systems into "Shahed killers" for mobile fire groups, is developing two pragmatic systems.
Specifically, KNDS France (formerly Nexter) has received an order to produce two anti-aircraft systems mounted on the chassis of the VBMR-L Serval armored vehicle.
The first system, DSA, aims to become an anti-aircraft missile complex utilizing Mistral missiles, which will essentially be analogous to the American Avenger. The second system, LAD, will combat drones using a 30mm automatic cannon, as reported by Opex360.
It has been announced that the French Ministry of Defense's General Directorate of Armament (Direction générale de l'armement) has ordered 30 units of the Serval DSA missile systems, which will feature the Atlas RC module from MDBA, adapted for installation on light armored vehicles and unarmored transport. It is worth noting that the Mistral's capabilities allow it to hit targets at ranges of up to 8 km and altitudes of up to 6 km.
Regarding the Serval LAD, 24 units are expected to be ordered. This will also be a solution with a combat module that combines a 30mm automatic cannon, sensors including radar, and a station for fixing the control radio channels of UAVs. This combination somewhat resembles the solution from the Australian Electro Optic Systems (EOS) - the Slinger combat module, which is used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
It should be noted that the French Ministry of Defense, as part of the SCORPIO rearmament program for ground forces, is acquiring a significant number of Serval armored vehicles - 420 units, for which 500 million euros are planned to be spent. The vehicle has a combat weight ranging from 15 to 17 tons and falls into the category of traditional MRAP on a 4x4 chassis.