Dire that in Villepinte, the 28e edition of Eurosatory, an international exhibition dedicated to defense and security, takes place in a “special” context is undoubtedly an understatement. After two years of war in Ukraine, the hardening of the strategic context can be seen in the increased attendance on the aisles of the Paris-Nord Villepinte exhibition center.
At the opening of the show, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, did not have to force, during his inaugural speech, to convince of the “necessity…
Dire that in Villepinte, the 28e edition of Eurosatory, an international exhibition dedicated to defense and security, takes place in a “special” context is undoubtedly an understatement. After two years of war in Ukraine, the hardening of the strategic context can be seen in the increased attendance on the aisles of the Paris-Nord Villepinte exhibition center.
At the opening of the show, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, did not have to force, during his inaugural speech, to convince of the “need to maintain a solid and reliable defense industry to guarantee our strategic autonomy and meet the needs of the armed forces”.
With needs evolving at the same time as a change of strategic era in terms of security and defense is confirmed for Europe, “the Ministry of the Armed Forces must transform itself in order to maintain a powerful and credible model. […] by pushing innovation, particularly in terms of drones and artificial intelligence,” insisted the minister at the opening of the international show.
P. R. / South West
The 2024 edition of Eurosatory, an international defense exhibition, is seeing record attendance, which is unsurprising in these times of all-out rearmaments.
The region, a major power in the national military industry
Message received five out of five by the major players and young shoots from New Aquitaine present at this edition of Eurosatory, which is being held throughout this week. Actors from a region that weighs heavily on the national defense scene. New Aquitaine brings together, with six air force bases and ten army bases, 11% of the army’s workforce, or 31,500 personnel (civilian and military). Industrially, the region is characterized by its capacity to host players present in both civil and military activities, such as aeronautical construction which, via the production of the Rafale or helicopter engines, mobilizes within the activity defends a good third of its 18,000 jobs. This is also valid in the space sector, with the “military” activity of propelling strategic missiles.
In addition to the great champions of the sector Thales, Eurenco, Safran, Roxel, etc., who all have their stands at Eurosatory, a battalion of around fifteen companies of all sizes occupies the 165 m² of the common stand proposed by the Regional Council. Companies which are all, whether they are new to the sector or not, in the era of the “war economy”, an expression recently released by the President of the Republic and taken up by regional councilor Bixente Etcheçaharreta during the inaugural speech of the stand.
“Fifteen years of visibility on the order book”
On the stand in question, the expression hits the mark. “We have been in a war economy for eight months,” confirms Marc de Tapol, director of TDM, a Mérignac-based company of 30 people which supplies essential electronic equipment for Rafale F4 aircraft. “The increase in demand currently gives us fifteen years of visibility on our order books. And we are getting ready to sign other contracts. We will have to recruit… Which is not easy because the big players attract more easily than the SMEs in the sector. »
Recruiting is also one of the objectives of Jean-François Remoué, sales director of Cofidur EMS. This company based in Boulazac (24) also produces electronic products. It has 400 employees and achieves an annual turnover of 75 million euros. “The defense market represents an increasingly important part of our activity. We are indeed in a war economy. »
Same analysis for Damien Chatard, sales managers at Skydrone Robotics, a La Rochelle company which manufactures drones capable of lifting and transporting loads of 35 kilos. “Today, the defense activity mobilizes 50% of the interest of our team of 15 people,” he assures. When it was founded 6 years ago, the company aimed at civilian markets, but times have changed.
They also change for Olikrom (from Pessac, in Gironde, 20 employees) where we would not expect to see its “intelligent” paintings, capable of changing color depending on the constraints imposed on the materials they cover, exhibited at Eurosatory. Until then, Olikrom targeted the mobility market, particularly civil aeronautics, but in recent months, defense players have taken an interest in it. Olikrom’s innovative paints help identify mission damage to military aircraft and vehicles, and even protective equipment such as bulletproof vests.
