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November 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

Le maintien de la BITD, enjeu stratégique pour la souveraineté française

DEFENSE

Le maintien de la BITD, enjeu stratégique pour la souveraineté française

La question de la résilience et de l'autonomie stratégique de la filière défense française a été examinée dans le cadre du Paris Air Forum 2020, lors d'un débat réunissant Christian Cambon, président de la Commission des Affaires étrangères, de la Défense et des Forces armées au Sénat, le général Philippe Lavigne, chef d'état-major de l'Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Patrice Caine, PDG de Thales, et Elie Girard, directeur général d'Atos. Patrice Caine a souligné la bonne résistance de l'industrie de défense : «nous avons été capables de maintenir la continuité des opérations critiques, pour la défense notamment», a-t-il constaté. Thales est «assis sur un socle technologique transverse et puissant, qui s'appuie sur 30 000 ingénieurs et nous permet de servir différents marchés», a affirmé le dirigeant, soulignant que le défi pour la filière est de préserver la base industrielle et technologique de défense (BITD) et ses entreprises de la supply-chain. «Protéger la BITD au sortir d'une telle crise présente des difficultés spécifiques, au sens où les industries de défense de manière générale sont un secteur particulier. On peut imaginer qu'en l'absence d'un volet plan de relance bénéficiant aux industries de défense, les marchés en cours ne vont pas apparaître tout de suite pour soutenir les activités de nos entreprises», analyse pour sa part Christian Cambon, président de la Commission des affaires étrangères, de la défense et des forces armées au Sénat. «Nous attendons une action ferme» a indiqué le sénateur : «nous comptons sur la mobilisation de l'État pour que même s'il n'y a pas de volet industrie de défense dans le plan de relance, on tente de maintenir la LPM».

La Tribune du 23 novembre

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