Ce « middle class » of French naval, named after these German mid-sized companies which are the strength of foreign trade across the Rhine, has multiplied large contracts in recent years, in France and for export. Socarenam, long specialized in fishing vessels, was selected in 2019 by the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) to supply the six new overseas patrol boats, 80 meter and 1,300 ton vessels which will be based in Tahiti , in Reunion and New Caledonia. Two of them have already been delivered.
The same Socarenam, allied with the CMN and Piriou shipyards, was chosen at the end of 2023 to manufacture seven patrol boats intended for the high seas for the French Navy, a contract worth 900 million euros. The ETI Exail was selected on September 27 to supply an underwater drone to the French Navy, capable of descending to a depth of 6,000m. As for Sillinger, a specialist in inflatable and semi-rigid boats based in Mer (Loir-et-Cher), it signed a framework contract worth 9 million euros at the end of 2023 to equip the French armies.
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The middleweights of the French naval sector have also increased their export contracts. The Breton Piriou, whose turnover has tripled in three years (350 million euros in 2023), has sold three high seas patrol boats to Senegal, and is taking care of the 12, subcontracting to Naval Group. minehunting ships ordered by Belgium and the Netherlands.
A little further south, the Vendée-based Ocea, which works 95% for export, has delivered around twenty vessels to the Nigerian navy since 2011, as well as vessels for the Ukrainian and Philippine coast guards. It also signed a letter of intent in April with Guyana for a 58-meter patrol boat (39.5 million euros).
Finished ? Still not. In Saudi Arabia, the Norman CMN is making a cardboard box. Same thing in Angola, where it notably sold its Ocean Eagle military catamarans. As for the Girondist Couach, it has made 100% of its military sales from exports since 2000. The group based near Arcachon has notably delivered, in recent years, 79 interceptors to Saudi Arabia and 22 to Oman. The company even opened a subsidiary with 40 employees in Saudi Arabia for training and maintenance.
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R&D décisive
How can we explain these international successes? R&D is an essential factor. “Faced with Turkish or Korean shipyards heavily subsidized by their governments, French players cannot fight on prices: they must be better on technology”summarizes Philippe Missoffe, general delegate of the Group of Naval Construction and Activities Industries (Gican), the professional union in the sector.
Couach thus offers boats of modest size, but very armed and equipped with the latest sensor technologies and on-board intelligence. “Our latest 22-meter patrol boats are equivalent, in terms of sensors and armament, to 80-meter ships,” explains Yann Huort, head of European business development at Couach. Ocea, for its part, has focused on 100% aluminum vessels, which are lighter and more resistant to corrosion. Exail is at the forefront of surface drones capable of navigating rough seas (Drix range), but also of underwater drones.
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Coupled with the successes of the two French giants in the sector (Naval Group, Chantiers de l'Atlantique), these good export performances allow the French naval sector to be one of the few to post a positive trade balance: 1.5 billion euros in 2023. That is 50% more than in 2010.
