Nervous-Looking Macron Urges Military To Produce Own Version Of Russia’s Oreshnik

French President Emmanuel Macron while addressing French military personnel at the Istres airbase in the south of the country on Thursday said that Europe needs its own answer to Russia’s cutting edge hypersonic arsenal.

In the remarks he specifically invoked Russia’s hypersonic ‘Oreshnik’ missile, which has been launched on Ukraine at least two known times – one just a week ago – and is capable of reaching speeds exceeding Mach 10.

Macron made clear that France needs its own type of Oreshnik missile: “We must also acquire such weapons, capable of changing the situation in the short term,” the president said in a speech broadcast on the Elysee Palace’s page on X.

Macron said this is crucial while acknowledging that “France is within the range of the ‘Oreshnik'”. He explained:

“We’ve witnessed the second launch of the Russian long-range missile Oreshnik. We Europeans must acquire these new weapons, capable of changing the balance of power, if we want to remain credible.”

Russian state media observed that Macron appeared “scared” of Russia’s hypersonic capabilities. 

And he vowed, “We will continue the work we began with the Europeans to develop ultra-long-range weapons. This is an initiative we launched.”

The NY Times has called it a warning delivered to Europe at Mach 10: “The message came screaming through the skies at 8,000 miles per hour. Early Friday morning [Jan.9], for just the second time since its all-out invasion of Ukraine, Russia fired a nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile — a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic weapon that until recently was banned under international treaty,” the publication wrote.

2025 was a big year for Moscow showcasing its military might and tech. As we reviewed earlier, in a matter of less than a year (after years prior in design and development), Russian scientific know-how came up with four bangers:

1. Oreshnik: hypersonic missile, already tested in the Ukraine battleground.

2. Burevestnik: Or “Stormbringer”, with that nice Deep Purple ring. Nuclear cruise missile with unlimited range.

3. Poseidon: nuclear-powered torpedo, capable of loitering underwater, undetected, for unlimited time; then, at a command, strikes enemy coasts with a nuclear payload, provoking a radioactive tsunami. Largely exceeds the destructive power of the Sarmat, Russia’s largest ICBM.

4. Khabarovsk: nuclear sub. Call him The Messenger of Doom: capable of delivering at least 6 Doomsday-enabling Poseidons.

Oreshnik is such a nothingburger that Macron says France needs an equivalent ASAP while looking like this. https://t.co/DZxj3YN3KY

— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) January 15, 2026

Earlier this month and into last, Russia made clear it would be stationing Oreshnik missiles inside the territory of the ‘Union State’ of Belarus, and this was seen as a reaction to several trends: increased long-range drone attacks on Russia out of Ukraine, and the US increasingly moving against Russia-linked tankers on the high seas.