The Ruelle Foundry or fonderie de Ruelle was founded as a cannon foundry in It ever since played a major role in providing weapons for the French armed forces. Over time, the foundry transformed to become a company that specializes in guided missiles. It is now part of Naval Group. The foundation of a gun foundry at Ruelle-sur-Touvre had everything to do with the river Touvre.
The Touvre is a very short During the Summer, it actually discharges more water than the Charente. The Touvre springs from four springs known as the Sources de la Touvre. These springs are fed by the Karst of La Rochefoucauld. The small rivers Tardoire and Bandiat are both about km long.
These are the main losing streams that disappear into the Karst and later resurge to create the Touvre.
The amount of water that the Touvre discharged made it a reliable source of power. This power varied between and hp, depending on the season. Even in , this was enough to move all the machinery that the factory and its employees used. The heavy cast iron naval guns could be moved overland, but this was a very costly affair.
Another reason to found a foundry at Ruelle was the proximity of useful mineral deposits. These provided the charcoal which provided the heat for the metallurgical processes. The price was a perpetual rent of livres a year. On the foundations of the paper mill, the marquis established a foundry for casting big cannon. In , he got a permit to cut down 4, arpents of forest over a period of nine years in the woods of Braconne north east of Ruelle.
