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French Paratroopers Test PROTEUS 20mm Counter-Drone System Amid UAS Swarm Threats.
French paratroopers conducted live-fire tests of the PROTEUS 20mm counter-drone system at Canjuers on 18 October 2025. The trials mark a major step in France’s push to harden frontline units against small UAS swarms and low-cost aerial attacks.
On 20 October 2025, the French Army’s 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment confirmed a fresh step in counter-UAS readiness following live-fire trials two days earlier at Canjuers. The regiment is the first Army unit fielded with PROTEUS systems configured to Standard 1, reflecting an accelerated focus on short-range, unit-level drone defense. The event underscores how frontline formations are being adapted to cheap, fast and attritable aerial threats that now shape modern land warfare. This development matters for force protection at home and on expeditionary operations, where drones increasingly target logistics, artillery and command posts.
PROTEUS’ key advantages stem from responsiveness, mobility and cost per effect. Compared with missile-based very-short-range air defense, a 20 mm cannon offers higher shot volume and lower cost per engagement, an important factor when adversaries can field swarms or persistent overhead spotters (Picture Source: French Army)
PROTEUS Standard 1 is a close-in counter-drone system built around a 20 mm automatic cannon firing explosive rounds from a TRM 2000 carrier, cued by a SANDRA day/night sight. The pairing enables rapid detection, tracking and engagement of low-flying, small-signature drones under varying light conditions. Designed to be organic to maneuver units, PROTEUS adds a hard-kill layer that complements electronic warfare effects and optical detection already present in French Army formations. In practice, it sits alongside the VAB ARLAD reconnaissance capability and NEROD rifle jammers, giving commanders a menu of soft-kill and hard-kill options matched to range, rules of engagement and collateral constraints.
Operationally, the 4th Battery’s artillery paratroopers conducted the first live-fire serials on Saturday, 18 October, validating crew drills and the sight-to-shooter chain on representative targets. The 35e RAP is the lead user for the Standard 1 configuration, marking the transition from trials to unit-level employment. The pathway now opens for tactics, techniques and procedures to be refined at the battery level, feeding a rapid learning loop that pairs experienced gunners with emerging drone-defeat playbooks. This iterative approach (trial, field, adjust) mirrors broader Army practice for fast-moving counter-UAS needs, where time to field and sustainability often outweigh bespoke, exquisite solutions.
PROTEUS’ key advantages stem from responsiveness, mobility and cost per effect. Compared with missile-based very-short-range air defense, a 20 mm cannon offers higher shot volume and lower cost per engagement, an important factor when adversaries can field swarms or persistent overhead spotters. Against heavier 30/35 mm gun systems purpose-built for base defense, the 20 mm solution is lighter, easier to deploy with airborne or rapid-reaction units, and better suited to convoy, artillery or forward command post protection. It also dovetails with NEROD rifle jammers, which can sever control links without firing, and with reconnaissance assets like VAB ARLAD that extend the detection envelope. The trade-offs are inherent to caliber and mount: lethal range and destructive radius are shorter than larger-caliber or missile solutions, placing a premium on cueing quality, engagement timing and disciplined ammunition management.
Strategically, the trials point to a practical hardening of French land forces against the most common battlefield disruptor of the past five years: small, expendable drones used for surveillance, fires correction and one-way attack. Militarily, a mobile, affordable hard-kill layer at battery level increases survivability for artillery and enables more confident maneuver under drone observation. Geostrategically, France aligns with a wider European trend of scaling layered counter-UAS from national-level site defense down to company and platoon echelons, a response to lessons drawn from Ukraine and the Middle East. Geopolitically, the move signals to allies and partners that French airmobile and rapid-reaction elements are adapting at pace, sustaining credibility for NATO operations and crisis response where drone saturation and electronic warfare are now baseline conditions.
Saturday’s shots at Canjuers send a clear signal: France is translating frontline experience into practical counter-UAS firepower that units can deploy now, refine quickly and sustain in volume. By giving artillery paratroopers an organic, mobile hard-kill option that meshes with jammers and reconnaissance vehicles, the Army is preparing for a battlespace where denying enemy drones is as essential as maneuver and fires.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.