SOFINS 2025: France’s UNAC and Thales Boost Special Forces Firepower with Rocket-Armed Fardier Tactical Vehicle.

At SOFINS 2025, the Special Operations Forces Innovation Network Seminar (SOFINS) 2025 in Bordeaux, France, French Company Thales unveiled a new, combat-enhanced version of the Fardier light tactical vehicle, developed by the French company UNAC, now integrated with the Buthus 70mm rocket launcher system. This cutting-edge configuration marks a significant advancement in the capabilities of special operations forces, offering a compact, mobile, and air-transportable platform with precision strike capabilities. The unveiling reflects an innovative approach to meeting the evolving needs of special forces operating in highly dynamic and asymmetric combat environments.
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The French-made UNAC Fardier light tactical vehicle showcased at SOFINS 2025, fitted with the Thales Buthus 70mm rocket launcher system—offering enhanced firepower and precision strike capabilities tailored for special operations forces. (Picture source: BTR X Account)

UNAC, based in France, is renowned for its expertise in developing engineering and mobility equipment tailored for military and civil defense applications. The Fardier is one of UNAC’s most strategic contributions to tactical mobility—a lightweight 4x4 vehicle initially designed to support airborne and rapid deployment forces. With a weight of less than two tons, the Fardier is specifically built to be sling-loaded under helicopters or parachuted into combat zones, providing elite units with immediate mobility upon insertion. Its compact dimensions and high agility make it ideal for traversing rugged terrain, narrow paths, or urban environments where heavier vehicles would be limited.

In its new configuration, the Fardier is armed with the Buthus rocket launcher system, a 70mm remote weapon station developed through a European industrial partnership involving Thales Belgium, WB Electronics, and AREX. The Buthus is designed to deliver both guided and unguided rocket fire, with the core capability centered around the FZ275 Laser Guided Rocket (LGR). This precision munition offers high accuracy at ranges up to 8 kilometers, enabling operators to neutralize threats such as fortified positions, light armored vehicles, or high-value targets with minimal risk of collateral damage.

For special operations forces, the Fardier equipped with the Buthus system introduces a number of game-changing operational advantages. First and foremost is the platform’s deployability. Because the vehicle can be dropped directly into the field or airlifted to remote locations, it gives commanders the ability to quickly insert mobile fire support where traditional assets like artillery or close air support might be unavailable. In fast-moving operations, this capability provides critical tactical overmatch, allowing small units to punch above their weight with precision firepower.

Moreover, the combination of mobility and guided munitions aligns perfectly with the doctrinal requirements of special forces—stealth, speed, precision, and versatility. The Fardier can rapidly reposition to engage time-sensitive targets, support an assault team with suppressive or precision fire, or be used to counter emerging drone threats using programmable airburst rockets. In reconnaissance or sabotage missions, the vehicle’s low profile and silent approach capabilities allow it to maneuver undetected before delivering a decisive strike.

Another advantage lies in the vehicle's modular design, which allows for various mission-specific configurations. Operators can adapt the platform for direct-action raids, convoy escort, surveillance, or anti-material missions. The Buthus system’s low weight and recoil also ensure that fire can be delivered accurately without destabilizing the platform, preserving the vehicle’s ability to move quickly after an engagement—critical for shoot-and-scoot tactics often used by special forces in denied or hostile environments.

The presentation of the Fardier-Buthus combination at SOFINS 2025 underlines the increasing importance of lightweight precision firepower in today’s battlefield, especially as special forces face a wider array of threats from irregular militias, peer adversaries, and non-state actors operating in complex terrains. By integrating a compact, accurate rocket system onto a highly mobile chassis, Thales and UNAC are offering a new tactical solution for rapid deployment units that demand versatility, lethality, and operational independence.

This vehicle-weapon system hybrid is not just a proof of concept—it represents a new paradigm for how special operations forces can extend their reach, strike capability, and survivability in the field. In a modern battlefield defined by speed, precision, and dispersed operations, the Fardier with Buthus offers a decisive edge to the forces that need to move fast, hit hard, and disappear just as quickly.