For the Defense Industrial and Technological Base [BITD] French, the year 2023 will have been disappointing in terms of order intake, their total amount having amounted to “only” 8.2 billion euros, whereas it had reached 27 billion a year earlier. And, during the 2014-23 period, only the 2017 and 2020 financial years were worse.
This result was all the more disappointing because, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute [SIPRI]global military spending had reached a record high of $2,443 billion in 2023 [soit + 6,8 % en termes réels].
“If the year 2023 may seem relatively modest in terms of order intake, this does not correspond to an underlying trend: the evolution of our exports must be assessed on longer time scales because the annual results are very fluctuating , depending on the number and amount of major contracts that entered into force during the year”, had however put the Ministry of the Armed Forces into perspective, in its annual report to Parliament on French arms exports.
The 2023 financial year will indeed have been a “wind gap”. During a speech delivered in the Cour des Invalides on the occasion of his wishes, this January 7, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, indicated that the exports of the French BITD had been established “at more than 18 billion euros in order intake” in 2024, making it “the second best year in our history”.
Until now, this place returned to the 2016 financial year, with 14 billion euros in orders.
Among the 18 billion exports mentioned by Mr. Lecornu, 10 billion concern “flagship platforms, such as the Rafale [avec des contrats en Indonésie et en Serbie, ndlr] and the submarines [quatre Black Sword Barracuda commandés par les Pays-Bas, ndlr].
But for the minister, there is no question of relaxing the effort. “2025 is shaping up to be an excellent year, which is off to a promising start with the sale of 14 Caracal helicopters to Iraq, which I am happy to confirm,” he said.
This point deserves to be clarified. Indeed, last September, Baghdad notified Airbus Helicopters of a contract for the delivery of 12 H225M Caracal [et non 14]. Is this a new order?
In any case, Mr. Lecornu continued, “we should not be satisfied with these results again. Also, 2025 should be a new record year, with the export of surface ships, our defense and intervention frigates in particular. [avec la Grèce et, éventuellement, la Norvège, ndlr]our submarines, our radars, our artillery, our helicopters and, of course, our Rafales,” he detailed.
This effort “will also focus on the SAMP/T [sol-air moyenne portée / terrestre] new generation, which fundamentally responds to the next ballistic threats, particularly from Iran and Russia,” said the minister.
As he reiterated, “exporting our weapons is vital for developing our defense industrial and technological base” and “this is just as vital for our trade balance and for creating new jobs throughout France”. And above all, he insisted, it is a “condition of our sovereignty again and the underlying balance of the model desired and decided by the Gaullists in the 1960s”.
