France is within range of Russia’s hypersonic ballistic missile, President Emmanuel Macron warned, vowing to accelerate the development of new long-range weapons alongside European partners. The warning comes after Russia used its Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile system to strike a Ukrainian aviation plant in Lviv, which was servicing F-16s and MiG-29s near the Polish border.
The Russian military’s use of the Oreshnik system, which has been described as a technological achievement capable of shifting the balance of power in the short term, has prompted France to seek similar capabilities through the European Long-Range Strike Approach (ELSA) initiative. Macron emphasized the importance of acquiring these new weapons to remain credible and support nuclear deterrence.
The ELSA program, launched in 2024 by France, Germany, and Poland, aims to leverage shared European costs and industrial strength to develop long-range conventional strike capabilities. The program has since been joined by Sweden, Italy, the UK, and the Netherlands. While specific plans have yet to be produced, Macron stressed the need to make strong progress on long-range strike capabilities with European partners, particularly Germany and the UK.
The Oreshnik system, which Russia first fired at a weapons plant in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in November 2024, has been hailed by President Vladimir Putin as having no equal globally. The system carries dozens of homing warheads capable of hitting multiple targets while traveling at ten times the speed of sound. Mass production of the Oreshnik has begun, and the system has been deployed in Belarus.
The second Oreshnik strike was conducted as part of Russia’s response to an attempted “terrorist attack” on a presidential residence in the Novgorod region. CCTV footage from Lviv captured numerous projectiles descending from the sky in rapid succession, although the scope of the damage has yet to be confirmed by Kiev. Macron’s warning highlights the significance of the Oreshnik system and the need for European countries to develop similar capabilities to maintain their credibility and security. The development of the ELSA program will be closely watched as Europe seeks to respond to the growing threat posed by Russia’s advanced military technology.
