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June 23, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Land, C4ISR

Paris Air Forum : comment l’État assure la sauvegarde de la BITD

La sauvegarde de la BITD française a été abordée lors du Paris Air Forum. Récemment, les ventes des sociétés Photonis et Fichou ont fait l'objet d'un veto de la part de l'État français de projets de rachat respectivement par un groupe américain et par un groupe indien, rappelle La Tribune. La direction générale de l'armement (DGA) et la direction générale des entreprises (DGE) ont ensuite orienté leur vente vers des acheteurs « connus favorablement » par les services de l'Etat, soit respectivement le fonds d'investissement HLD, pour Photonis, et le groupe HEF, pour Fichou. La DGA joue un rôle clé parmi les outils dont la France s'est dotée pour contrôler les investissements étrangers et protéger les 4 000 entreprises de sa base industrielle et technologique de défense (BITD) : « Nous avons traité 138 dossiers d'investissements financiers étrangers » en 2020, souligne François Mestre, chef du service des affaires industrielles et de l'intelligence économique à la DGA. Par ailleurs, « nous avons formé cent cadres de la DGA à conduire des audits dans les sociétés. Ils ont ausculté 1 200 entreprises de la BITD pour avoir une vision de leur état ». Une démarche qui a été suivie de 130 procédures de remédiation, détaille-t-il. Le Service de l'information stratégique et de la sécurité économique au ministère de l'Économie (SISSE) est par ailleurs doté d'un dispositif de protection économique.

La Tribune du 23 juin

On the same subject

  • Spanish vendors pitch new hypoxia-response training for military pilots

    December 7, 2018 | International, Aerospace

    Spanish vendors pitch new hypoxia-response training for military pilots

    By: Christina Mackenzie PARIS – Spanish companies have unveiled a new system for simulating low-oxygen conditions that air force pilots may experience during flight. The technology, made by Indra, one of Spain's leading high-technology companies, and iAltitude, a Spanish company specializing in high-altitude sports training, is the latest proposal to cope with the symptoms of hypoxia, which can cause pilots to fall unconscious mid-flight. Air force pilots have a backup oxygen mask in case the oxygen levels drops too low but if the mask were to fail, pilots “must be able to identify the symptoms that precede hypoxia, a dangerous state that can cause loss of consciousness in a few seconds,” Indra said. The system, which the company claims is “the first of its kind in the world,” consists of normobaric hypoxia equipment made by iAltitude that Indra has integrated into the simulator for the C101 Spanish Air Force training jet at the Madrid-based CIMA (Aerospace Medicine Training Center). Whilst the pilots are training on the simulator, the system regulates the oxygen pilots get through their mask, reducing it progressively. Their responses are recorded and the data will be used by CIMA to design training programs tol alert pilots to pre-hypoxia symptoms. Until now, training in hypoxia was mainly performed in hypobaric and normobaric sealed chambers in which trainees could undertake exercises to help them detect loss of oxygen, but these could not be undertaken simultaneously with flight tasks. The new system means hypoxia tests are now integrated with flight training, as the capabilities of each pilot to complete flight procedures in low-oxygen conditions are being evaluated continuously. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/12/04/spanish-vendors-pitch-new-hypoxia-response-training-for-military-pilots

  • Why defense firms need to get systematic about M&A — big and small

    November 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Why defense firms need to get systematic about M&A — big and small

    By: Eric Chewning and Frank Coleman III After years of growth, defense budgets will likely flatten (or decline). In such a financial environment, the U.S. Department of Defense will consider trade-offs between funding modernization, sustaining legacy equipment and preserving force structure. These hard choices will be informed by the DoD's strategic acquisition priorities, which will likely continue to reflect the need for innovation around leading-edge capabilities in areas like space, C5ISR, long-range precision fires, unmanned vehicles and artificial intelligence. To support these evolving mission requirements, the defense industry will need to ensure the industrial base is able to deliver technological advantage. This requires attracting world-class talent as well as the necessary financial capital to operate global industrial enterprises. Attracting these resources requires continued value creation through growth and return on invested capital improvements. But in a down budget environment, where is this growth to come from? While many will think organic growth is the best value-creating option (and often is), the answer also lies in augmenting a classic portfolio strategy with a systematic approach to transactions. Mergers and acquisitions are a proven growth accelerant for defense companies, and have generated superior shareholder returns and greater resilience for companies that have pursued it systematically. At first glance, this may simply seem like an obvious description of recent history. The aerospace and defense sector, after all, has seen rapid consolidation in the last five years, with deals worth $358 billion struck between 2015 and 2019, three times the total between 2010 and 2014. The problem for defense companies looking for more of the same is that this wave of consolidation now appears to have run its course. The combined market value of the top five defense hardware players is now more than four times that of the next five; so even as further mega-deals are theoretically possible, they will be increasingly difficult to execute, underscoring the value of programmatic M&A. Distinct from selective or organic deal-making approaches, programmatic M&A involves a company conducting two or more small or midsized deals per year, with an aggregate value greater than 15 percent of its market capitalization over five years, that align with their overall corporate strategy (which is hopefully linked to the “fast streams” of growth in the budget (see exhibit below)). These deals get choreographed around a specific business case, such as scaling or integrating vital digital capabilities, and are rooted in a disciplined appraisal of transactions. In the defense industry, programmatic M&A should be deployed against a strategy supported by the customer's need for innovation, lower costs and better mission outcomes for the war fighter. Our analysis shows that over the last decade, few defense companies took a programmatic approach to M&A. Those who did outperformed their peers in total shareholder returns by 10.4 percent. M&A was also an important key to resilience during the last defense spending downturn in 2007-2011: The top quintile of outperforming companies, as well as optimizing cash and flexing capex, used it as an opportunity to grow less cyclical parts of the business and build digital capabilities. Defense companies may be deterred by the current market environment, featuring stretched valuations, competition from institutional capital and a squeeze on mid-tier players. They may be cautious about the challenge of integrating smaller nondefense acquisitions into company processes and culture — a process that is easier to get wrong than right to be sure. The very complexity of these circumstances creates opportunities for bold players to differentiate themselves from their peers, align their strategies with national defense priorities and add significant value for shareholders. When done well, programmatic M&A can form a central pillar of their growth strategy. With a proactive approach to deal sourcing, holistic diligence, and in-house execution and integration expertise, companies can establish M&A as a critical capability and avoid the risks of reactive, one-off projects. In the challenging environment that confronts the defense industry today, those who act boldly will succeed in creating enduring businesses that can adapt to the evolving needs of the national defense. Eric Chewning and Frank Coleman III are partners at McKinsey and Company. Chewning previously served as chief of staff in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and before that as the Pentagon's industrial chief. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/11/16/why-defense-firms-need-to-get-systematic-about-ma-big-and-small/

  • US Army’s next-gen protection system for helos cleared for full-rate production

    May 4, 2021 | International, Land

    US Army’s next-gen protection system for helos cleared for full-rate production

    The U.S. Army has awarded Northrop Grumman a nearly $1 billion contract to produce the Common Infrared Countermeasure system for its aviation fleet.

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