French Rafale discovered with laser-guided rocket pod

French Rafale discovered with laser-guided rocket pod

French Rafale discovered with laser-guided rocket pod

The Rafale M was found equipped with pods for 68mm laser-guided rockets, which were first unveiled at the Paris Air Show 2025 as a cost-effective solution against drones and asymmetric threats.

At least one Thales 68mm rocket pod was found installed under the port (left) wing of a French Navy (Marine Corps) Rafale M. The photos will confirm that the French military has finally put in motion long-reported plans to give the jet a cost-effective capability against unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and asymmetric threats.

The image was first posted on Facebook by Jean-Luc Cardey on April 16, 2026, and was subsequently shared by X via the defense aviation page ‘Bruno_Aviation’. Other French users have since claimed that the image may have been taken at Istres-Le Tubé air base (Base Aérienne 125/BA 125), which is also home to the Directorate of Logistics (Direction Générale de l’Armement – ​​​​DGA) flight test center.

The jet is the Rafale M ‘1’, the first production aircraft used for experimental and development purposes. ‘Bruno_Aviation’ identified the system as a Thales JF12 pod capable of carrying twelve 68mm rockets, or a total of 24 rockets when carrying two pods in a symmetrical loadout.

The TALIOS targeting pod can also be seen installed under the starboard (right) engine intake, used for target acquisition, tracking and laser firing. The French Rafales’ Counter-UAS (C-UAS) capability follows the current trend of American jets such as the F-15E, F-16, A-10s, and the Royal Air Force (RAF)’s Eurofighter Typhoon, which similarly use laser-guided Advanced Kill Precision Weapon System II (APKWS II) rockets for anti-drone missions.

The development also comes amid official and unofficial footage released last week showing French Rafales and Tiger attack helicopters intercepting Iranian One-Way Attack (OWA) drones. The aircraft engaged the targets using MICA IR short-range air-to-air missiles (AAMs) and chin-mounted 30mm cannons, respectively.

Rafale’s rocket pod

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However, further research revealed that the actual designation of the pod was the TELSON 12 JF Rocket Pod, developed by TDA Armements, a subsidiary of Thales. Thales said it plans to launch the 68mm Aculeus-LG laser-guided rocket when it displays the system at the Paris Air Show in June 2025.

Jane’sCapturing images of the rocket pod, an unmanned official from the French Armament Directorate (Direction Générale de l’Armement – ​​​​DGA) was quoted as saying: “We absolutely must start using rockets for anti-UAS missions, because we cannot continue to use high-value missiles in this role.” Journalist Gareth Jennings also reports in

In a March 2015 promotional video, TDA Armements said its guided rockets are guided-activated, making them safer and preventing their use as improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by non-state actors. The system has already been used by French forces in Mali and Afghanistan.

Aculeus LG is a “submeter precision” rocket that “follows a ballistic trajectory for most of its flight until a course correction command is received from the aircraft.” “After an ignition phase that lasts approximately one second, the rocket will fly for a few seconds, then correct its course and guide itself towards the laser-illuminated target,” the company explains.

Each Aculeus LG rocket costs between $25,000 and $40,000, roughly comparable to Iran’s Shahed-type OWA, which ranges from $20,000 to $50,000. MBDA’s MICA IR and MICA RF missiles are each worth more than $1 million.

Tiger attack helicopters and Rafales shot down Shahed drones.

Footage captured from the ground on April 14, 2026, shows a MICA missile launched from a Rafale shooting down an Iranian OWA drone from a short range. Both the drone and the jet are easily identifiable, and OSINT accounts confirm their location as the Erbil region of Iraq.

Prior to this, on April 10, the French Joint Chiefs of Staff released several videos showing Iran’s OWA drone being shot down by gunfire or WVR (within visual range) missile engagement from the Rafale’s head-up display (HUD), TALIOS pod, and Tiger attack helicopter’s electro-optical (EO) system.

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