Paris, France – ArianeGroup announced the successful first flight of its new flight test system, SyLEx (Système de Lancement d’Expériences, or Experiment Launch System), on November 28, 2025. The launch was operated by the French Defence Procurement and Technology Agency’s (DGA) Missile Testing Centre in Biscarrosse (DGA EM).
This pivotal flight successfully validated the single-stage version of the SyLEx system and its dedicated new launch pad infrastructure. SyLEx was developed for the DGA in under three years, establishing France’s first sovereign suborbital launch capability.
For its maiden flight, the SyLEx system carried an experimental payload developed by ArianeGroup, serving as a platform for technological integration and demonstration.
Vincent Pery, Director of Defence Programmes at ArianeGroup, commented on the success:
“This successful first flight secures sovereign testing capabilities for France using sounding rockets. SyLEx has been designed and built by ArianeGroup teams in under three years, based on test-and-learn methods. Thus, DGA’s renewed confidence in ArianeGroup’s expertise enables France’s autonomy and sovereignty in suborbital launch capabilities. We are already advancing to the next phase of our incremental roadmap: the two-stage version.”
This will provide France with a sovereign capability for in-flight testing of technologies, including those for deterrence, hypervelocity research, and civil-use experiments.
The system includes two rocket models: a single-stage and a eventually two-stage version. And It can carry a payload of up to 600 kg and reach altitudes of 200 to 400
The SyLEx program is a critical step in providing France with independent, reliable, and responsive access to suborbital space for testing advanced defense and space technologies.
Developmet by ArianeGroup took place over a three year span, beginning in 2021.