France will have to spend nearly $390 million in 2009 on urgent operational requirements, according to Francois Cote, the deputy head of the French armament procurement office. This is more than double the figure spent in 2008, Defensenews.com reports.

Spending on UORs will be "clearly lower" next year, Cote is quoted as saying by Defensenews.com. UOR purchases reflect "choices made between the needs of today's war and tomorrow's war," Cote said.

The UORs include six equipment contracts for force protection, nine for communications technologies and 21 for combat capabilities.

To boost its forces in Afghanistan, France has ordered lots of defense equipment intended to better protect against roadside bombs.

Lightweight armor kits that can be taken on helicopters, armored truck cabins and remote weapons stations were among the orders, Defensenews.com reports.

The French armed forces will also get more firepower, with Nexter Systems to deliver 15 pod-mounted 20mm cannons for Puma and Caracal helicopters.

To boost its anti-piracy force in the Gulf of Aden, Paris decided to buy infrared surveillance cameras to be installed in the French navy's La Fayette-class frigates.

Paris also ordered several models of the ROVER targeting video terminal, which will be mounted on several fighter jets and drones. France meanwhile is in talks to buy the medium-range anti-tank missile Spike from the Javelin missile joint venture companies, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, but that purchase would not fall into the UOR category.

But Paris is not only buying; it's also strong when it comes to sales.

A parliamentary report issued in late September revealed that French arms sales in 2008 climbed by 13 percent to the highest level since 2000.

French companies logged orders worth nearly $10 billion in 2008, solidifying France's fourth place in the global ranks of arms exporters.

In 2008 the United States led the estimated $55 billion market with 52.3 percent of sales, followed by Britain with 13.7 percent, Russia with 8.2 percent and France with 7 percent. With a 5 percent share, Israel was the fifth-largest arms exporter.

The strong French performance in 2008 is a result of several deals mainly in the aeronautics sector.

It scored orders for the Airbus-made A330 transport tanker from Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and sold several of its multinationally produced helicopters: the Eurocopter-made Tiger and Cougar choppers (with Germany) and the NH90 (with Germany, Italy and the Netherlands). Modernization also increased the figures, Defensenews.com reports, citing avionics upgrades for Ukrainian helicopters as well as renovation work on Kuwaiti patrol boats and Colombian frigates. Morocco bought a fleet of FREMM frigates built by Thales.

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