Ukraine deploying Thales' steel-cloud rockets as demand for anti-drone weapons surges

Thales is racing to expand production of a new anti‑drone munition — a 70mm rocket fitted with an airburst FZ123 warhead that releases thousands of tiny steel pellets to shred incoming drones. The Belgian arm of the French defence giant says the weapon, unveiled at Eurosatory 2024, is already being deployed to Ukraine and demand outstrips its current output.

The FZ123 contains roughly two pounds of explosive and sprays pellets over an area roughly 80 feet in diameter, creating a “steel cloud” intended to defeat NATO‑class drones such as Iran’s Shahed, Caliber.Az reports per Business Insider.

Mounted on Thales’ laser‑guided 70mm rocket — and compatible with standard NATO launchers — the warhead can also be fitted to unguided variants used for air‑to‑ground and ground‑to‑ground roles.

Thomas Colinet, Thales Belgium’s domain director for vehicles and tactical systems, confirmed the weapon is in use in Ukraine.

“The good thing for us is, if they are asking for more, it means they are happy with it," he said.

The company declined to disclose how many warheads have been sent or to reveal pricing, but said guided 70mm rockets are generally far cheaper than conventional missiles.

“I will not give numbers, of course, but if you have to compare that to a missile? There is no fight. The rocket is kind of a low‑cost missile,” Colinet said.

Thales Belgium is scaling up production at its Herstal plant: roughly 3,500 guided rockets by the end of the year, with a target annual capacity of 10,000 by 2026. The firm says it can manufacture 30,000 unguided 70mm rockets per year — potentially 60,000 with double shifts if suppliers also increase output — and has grown staff fivefold to about 300 employees over five years.

Ukrainian forces fire the rockets from truck‑mounted Vampire multibarrel launchers and retrofitted Mi‑8 helicopters, using airbursts or proximity fuzes to engage single drones or swarms at ranges up to several thousand feet. Thales plans to help assemble and repair rockets in Ukraine, an agreement Kyiv announced in November.

The system faces operational limits: guided rockets require continuous laser illumination to home on a target and will revert to the target’s last known position if the laser is lost — a vulnerability as Shahed waves have been flown at higher altitudes and in poor weather.

Olivier Heuschen of Thales Belgium said a rocket will fly toward its last‑known target for five seconds before continuing ballistically.

Recent cross‑border drone incidents in Poland, Denmark and Romania have driven a flood of international interest.

“All the European countries are showing interest, for sure,” said Alain Quevrin, Thales Belgium’s country director.

He added that discussions sparked by Ukraine’s low‑cost counter‑drone tactics have prompted partner nations to reassess whether they “have the right system to address this concern?”

By Sabina Mammadli