SECURITY AND DEFENCE
MBDA − a test case for a realistic European Armament Cooperation?
The benefits of 10 years of integration in the missile sector Interview with Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA, Paris
The European: Mr. Bouvier, MBDA will be celebrating its tenth anniversary later this year. What does this mean for you? Mr Bouvier: It was actually on 18th December, 2001 when BAE Systems, EADS and Finmeccanica, the three major forces in the aerospace sector in Europe, signed the agreement which would pool all their missile activities into a new company, MBDA. From this union, a model has emerged that is very special, even unique, in the world of defence. The European: MBDA operates within a particularly sensitive area. Mr Bouvier: Indeed, namely guided weapons − also referred to as complex weapons − which feature in the range of defence equipment that delivers effects and which are capable of conferring superiority during a military engagement or confrontation. Although its activities see it intimately linked to state security and sovereignty, MBDA has established technological and industrial capabilities in four major European nations (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom). In due course, this will be five as a result of our positioning strategy in Spain. The European: What is the added value of such cooperation? With four or five partners, won’t cooperation become too complicated? Mr Bouvier: Cooperation is not an end in itself. To be viable and lasting, it has to take the best of each one of its different elements so that the operational excellence of products and programmes achieved together exceeds the individual capability of each nation working in isolation.
Antoine Bouvier Antoine Bouvier is Chief Executive Officer of MBDA since June 2007. He was born in Paris in 1959 and graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique (1980 – 1983) and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (1983 – 1986). From January 2002 until joining MBDA, he was CEO of ASTRIUM Satellites. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President in charge of Eurocopter’s Commercial Helicopter Division. In 1990, he joined Aerospatiale’s Commercial Aircraft Division. From 1992 until 1994, he was Secretary General and Industrial Director of the ATR GIE. Between 1994 and 1998, he was ATR’s Vice-President of Operations, going on to become President of the ATR GIE from 1998 until 2001.
Mr Bouvier: The viability of MBDA, as is the case without doubt for all defence businesses, rests on a strategy committed to export and globalization. In this respect, MBDA’s distinct model rests on four pillars: European cooperation, national sovereignty, operational excellence and globalisation. I will now look at each one of these in more details. The European: Yes, it would be fine to learn about the setup of your company. Mr Bouvier: Fifteen years ago, what is now MBDA used to be six national missile companies, all competing with each other, all having very strong culture, history and vision of where the missile business is going. In these 15 years, we have been able, step by step, to set up what is now MBDA, an integrated European company with a unified vision.
The European: Could you illustrate this? Mr Bouvier: If I had to give just one example of this philosophy, I would choose the beyond visual range, air-to-air missile Meteor programme for which MBDA is the prime contractor and in which the five nations I mentioned above, as well as Sweden, are cooperating. This missile, which will be in production as of 2013, will ensure a clear, long-term air superiority for Europe’s three combat aircraft: Gripen, Rafale and Typhoon. It will also contribute to the renewed appeal of these aircraft on the export market.
The European: Wasn’t the first significant step in 1996 the formation of Matra BAE Dynamics (MBD)? Mr Bouvier: Indeed, this came about when France and the UK launched the SCALP/Storm Shadow stand-off missile programme together as an alternative to U.S. procurement. Looking back, this can be seen as a strong vote of confidence in Anglo-French cooperation. The second step came in 2001 with the formation of MBDA and, with it, the inclusion of MBDA Italy and the subsequent introduction of MBDA Germany in 2006.
The European: Finally, in a Europe where budgets are witnessing a long-term downward trend.
The European: Will the experience you have help in creating new forms of cooperation with nations’ administrations?
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